3 Takeaways: Islanders Fall 3-1 to Predators

The New York Islanders were in prime position to earn at least one point on Saturday night, but let it slip away in the final 10 seconds of an eventual 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

Alexandre Carrier’s game-winner with 7.9 seconds to play broke open a 1-1 tie as the Predators snatched a regulation win, and the Islanders walked away without a point, a disappointing result on a night where the Isles deserved at least one.

“It feels pretty raw right now,” Noah Dobson said following the loss.

In an intense and evenly matched battle through 52 minutes of play, Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s deflection from a Dobson shot put the Isles ahead, but Nashville capitalized on the man advantage with a tally Luke Evangelista to tie the score. After Carrier’s go-ahead goal Juuso Parssinen recorded an empty net tally with one second left in the game.

“We played a pretty solid road game for most of it,” Anders Lee said. “There's a lot of things to like, but we have to manage the moments better, especially those last five minutes. We’ve got to get it at least to overtime and get a point out of it.”

In the process, the Islanders’ winless streak against the Predators was extended to 10 games, with their last win coming back on Oct. 28, 2017.

ISLANDERS LOSE HEARTBREAKER IN LAST 10 SECONDS:

The story of Saturday’s game unfolded in the final seconds of the third period.

Head Coach Lane Lambert called it a “calamity of errors” on the sequence that led to Nashville’s game-winner. The play started with a failed zone clear, followed by Filip Forsberg circling the net and going low to high, feeding the defensemen at the point. The Isles caught a bad bounce on the next play, as Carrier’s slap shot snapped Scott Mayfield’s stick in half and floated over Ilya Sorokin, who was out to challenge the play.

“It was a cardinal sin in our zone,” Lambert said. “Turn the puck over and they end up getting shot, breaks a stick and alley ops over. Just kind of a calamity of errors.”

The breakdown undid what was an otherwise solid effort by the Islanders at even strength to that point, limiting Nashville to just four high-danger chances at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.

Neither team had much space or grade-A chances through the first two periods, exchanging end-to-end opportunities in the final frame, but playing a tight game for the most part. The Islanders outhit the Predators 28-21 - who lead the league in hits – and blocked 25 shots.

“There wasn't much out there at all,” Lee said. “It was a grind of a game. They get a bounce to win it, it’s just the way it goes sometimes. That's just that's a tough one way to lose that game, after the way we played for most of it.”

SOROKIN SHARP IN 10^TH STRAIGHT GAME

The late goal and ultimate result put a damper on Ilya Sorokin’s night, but the Islanders netminder had a solid effort in a heated goalie duel with Juuse Saros.

Sorokin made 25 saves on 27 shots in his 10^th consecutive game, which tied his career high, including stops on Roman Josi and Denis Gurianov in the third period to keep it scoreless. It was hard to fault Sorokin on the bad bounce off Mayfield’s stick at the end of the game and the Predators other goal came via the power play.

“He made some big saves,” Palmieri said. “He’s always great, always gives us a chance to win. Hats off to him, he's been a workhorse for us.”

Saros made 24 saves in a solid performance for the Predators. Pageau was the lone Islander to beat him on a nifty deflection.

ROMANOV PLAYS DESPITE TAKING PUCK HIGH DURING WARMUPS

Alexander Romanov turned in a solid game for the Islanders on Saturday night, despite missing warmups after taking an errant puck to the face.

Romanov was repaired in time for puck drop and provided his usual physicality and quality defensive effort.

The defenseman skated 22:49, ending the night tied for a team-high with four blocked shots, three hits and a quality scoring chance for a shot on goal.

“I thought he was hard, I thought he was good,” Lambert said.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head to Minnesota to take on the Wild on Monday. Puck drop is at 6 p.m eastern.