Islanders fall again to Predators as third-period breakdown ruins otherwise solid game
The Islanders' Mike Reilly skates into teammate Sebastian Aho as they both go for the puck against Predators center Colton Sissons during the second period of an NHL game Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. Credit: AP/Mark Zaleski
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Predators have just been that team to the Islanders. An immovable object. An obstacle in the road. Kryptonite.
And the way they won Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena — their 10th in a row over the Islanders — left coach Lane Lambert describing the final minute of regulation as a “cardinal sin” and a “calamity of errors.”
After Matt Martin couldn’t clear the zone, defenseman Alexandre Carrier’s shot got kicked over goalie Ilya Sorokin by Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield for the winner with 7.9 seconds left in regulation. Juuso Parssinen added a buzzer-beating empty-netter as the Islanders opened a four-game road trip with a 3-1 loss.
“We turn the puck over,” Lambert said. “We tried to go through the middle of the ice. It’s a cardinal sin in our zone. They end up getting a shot, breaks a stick, alley-oops over. Just a calamity of errors, I guess.”
The shame was that for 59 minutes, the Islanders (19-13-10) did almost everything right, particularly with their defensive structure. Still, they dropped to 0-8-2 against the Predators dating to Feb. 5, 2018.
This defeat marked the first time the Islanders faced former coach Barry Trotz since he was named the Predators’ general manager.
“I thought we played a pretty solid road game,” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “We’ve just got to manage moments better. It can’t happen. It doesn’t matter how good you play for 59 minutes. Those are important points you lose. Everything is so tight.”
The loss dropped the Islanders to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with four teams within two points.
Sorokin made 25 saves, facing only 13 shots through the first two periods. Juuse Saros stopped 24 shots for the Predators (24-18-1), who were playing on back-to-back nights after Friday’s 6-3 win in Dallas.
The Islanders were coming off an inspiring 4-3 overtime win over the Maple Leafs as they rallied from a two-goal deficit. They have not won back-to-back games since Dec. 11-13.
“That’s a good road game,” Anders Lee said. “Trending in the right way with our play. There wasn’t much out there tonight, either side. It was a grindy game. Both teams played well defensively. We just come out on the short end of that bounce at the end.”
Jean-Gabriel Pageau finally notched the game’s first goal as he got between the circles to tip Dobson’s shot from the right point at 12:00 of the third period. Dobson had a career-high four assists against the Maple Leafs.
But Kyle Palmieri tripped Luke Evangelista at 13:13 and Evangelista tied it at 1-1 with a power-play goal from the right circle.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Palmieri said. “It was a tight game. Scotty blocks a shot and it pops up over [Sorokin]. Sometimes the bounces don’t go your way.”
The Islanders survived a pregame scare as defenseman Alexander Romanov was hit in the face with the puck in warm-ups. He left the ice bent over but played a strong 22:49 and did not need a full face shield.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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