The Ottawa Senators left the Music City singing a hurtin’ tune, and they had nobody to blame but themselves.

The Senators blew a three-goal lead only to see Steven Stamkos complete the hat-trick with 1:13 left to secure a 5-3 victory for the Nashville Predators on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.

Nothing has come easily for the Senators all season, and their 3-0 lead slowly evaporated until they suddenly found themselves in a tie game late in the third period against the Predators.

Goaltender James Reimer deserved a better fate than the meltdown that was taking place in front of him. Dylan Cozens, Ridly Greig, and Stephen Halliday scored for the Senators, who allowed five straight goals.

The Senators had too many passengers and got exactly what they deserved when the final buzzer sounded.

Stamkos’ second of the game, and second on a power play, tied it with 9:53 left in the game. At that point, the Predators had the Senators on their heels, and thave struggled to keep leads in the last week.

“We took way too many penalties, especially in the third; it’s uncharacteristic for us to not at least get a point out of this,” said a frustrated coach, Travis Green. “I didn’t think we had enough players that played a strong enough game for 60 minutes.”

The Predators battled back to close the gap to 3-2 at 8:19 of the third when Jonathan Marchessault beat Reimer. That came moments after the Senators killed off a double-minor to Fabian Zetterlund for high-sticking.

THIRD GAME FOR JAMES

The Senators stuck with Reimer in the net.

Did they have any choice? No. Top goalie Linus Ullmark, who made the trip, wasn’t ready to play and didn’t dress as the backup. Reimer, 37, made 21 stops in the club’s 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

In his first two games with Ottawa, Reimer had posted a 1-0-1 record with a .911 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average. The win in Columbus was his first National Hockey League win since April 17, 2025.

Moments after Reimer made a dive across the net to make the stop, Stamkos scored on the power play to cut Ottawa’s lead to 3-1 with only 1:26 left in the second period.

Cozens scored his fourth goal in five games to give the Senators a 3-0 lead. He tipped a shot by Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros with 9:14 left in the second period.

“He’s been outstanding. He’s made some massive saves tonight,” Cozens told TSN’s Gord Miller about Reimer after the second period. “He’s just so confident and so poised. He’s playing great for us, and we’re trying to limit the chances on him.”

Reimer couldn’t do it all himself.

EVERY NIGHT IS BIG

The Senators came into this game with points in five straight games and a 4-4-2 record in their last 10. They would like to get back into the playoff picture before the Olympic break, and every game is a must-win.

Playing well and losing won’t cut it anymore. The Senators already need help from the clubs in front of them, and have to close the gap with points. That’s the only path to making the playoffs for a second straight spring.

The Senators just can’t afford to let three-goal leads slip away, whether it’s against a Western Conference team or not. The Senators have had huge issues playing 60 minutes all season, and this was no different.

The club is sitting seven points out of the final wildcard spot in the East.

“We’re taking too many penalties,” said Stutzle. “It hurts. It’s definitely really frustrating. When you’re up 3-0, you should win those games. They’re a good team, but if we just play our game in the third and put the pucks in the hard areas, we’re going out of here with a win tonight.”

HAPPY HALLIDAY

The Senators were up 2-0 after the first period and had looked good.

Halliday, 23, who had six assists in 18 games in his previous games for Ottawa, had a game he will remember with his first NHL goal by opening the scoring in the first period.

He went to the net and was able to backhand the puck over the right pad of Saros at 6:03. The Ajax native, who was selected No. 104 overall in the 2022 NHL draft, had been searching for that one.

“It was really fun,” said Halliday. “It’s always a pleasure to be in the NHL and I’m super grateful.”

Called up earlier in the day, it was a good way for Halliday to settle into his fourth-line role with the club. He’ll be in Ottawa for a while after the club learned it will be without veteran winger David Perron for seven weeks.

That’s the fifth time in six games that the Senators have opened the scoring.

Greig, coming off a two-point effort in Columbus, extended Ottawa’s lead to 2-0 by scoring for the second straight game. He took a pass from Michael Amadio, had a partial break and beat Saros on the short side at 14:19.

It looked like Greig may have added another late going hard to the net, but it wasn’t reviewed, and there was no challenge from the Ottawa bench.

The Senators will open a four-game home stand against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com