Filip Forsberg recorded a season-high 10 shots on goal and his teammates tacked on another 31, but the Nashville Predators ultimately left UBS Arena empty-handed after falling by a 2-0 final to the New York Islanders on Saturday.
“They’re obviously a pretty decent defensive team,” Forsberg said. “And we were having our chances, but their goalie played unbelievable, you’ve got to give him credit… The third period we were just peppering him with pucks and he was making ridiculous saves. There were pucks leaking through and off the posts, so there were certainly chances, but we couldn't find a way.”
“I thought it was a good hockey game,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “They were a desperate team and I thought they defended their blue paint really well. And I thought we did a lot of good things all through the ice and all through the game. Maybe we were a little bit sluggish early, but I thought we got going and just couldn’t buy a goal late in the game.”
The result saw the Predators conclude their season series against the Islanders at 1-1-0 and move to 22-13-3 on the road.
QUICK HITS
No Lack of Effort
Despite not appearing on the scoreboard, the Predators threw a relentless offensive effort against the Islanders on Saturday, recording 41 shots and a season-high 94 shot attempts against New York.
Unfortunately, a stifling defensive effort from the home team - Nashville saw a season-high 33 shots blocked - and a stellar goaltending performance from Semyon Varlamov handed the Predators the shutout loss at UBS Arena.
“They were desperate,” Brunette said. “They were paying the price and they're a team that's gone to big games and won big games and they showed a little bit of that tonight, the way they defended late. But in saying all that, I really liked our game. I thought we created enough to win the game and you run into a hot goalie once in a while.”
Lankinen’s Strong Showing
While the Islanders indeed benefitted from a hot goaltender on Saturday, Nashville’s netminder was no slouch either.
Making his sixth start since Feb. 17, Kevin Lankinen turned away 28 Islanders shots and kept his team in close contention all night.
“He's been a real backbone on the road for us every time and I kind of feel bad that we didn't get two points for him,” Brunette said. “The way he played and made some big saves at some big moments, especially in the second half of the game… He was in there to back us up. So, he was tremendous. He's been tremendous all year. And again, just feel bad we didn't get two points for him.”
Try, Try Again
The Predators get a quick shot at redemption - and another chance to clinch a postseason berth - on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils, and departed Long Island on Saturday feeling mostly satisfied with their efforts.
“We want to keep pushing away, and there’s no better feeling than doing it right away,” Forsberg said. “At the same time, I think it's more about the effort. I thought our first period was not great, but after that I thought it was good and we could have easily found a way to win. We didn't tonight, so we’ve just got to go back at it tomorrow.”
“We’ve got to maybe be a little bit more desperate in the blue paint,” Brunette said. “I think there were some pucks laying around that we were maybe not quite in there enough to bury. But credit to [New York]. They defended really well around the house, I thought [Varlamov] was outstanding. Our power play, even though we didn't get rewarded, I thought we moved the puck pretty well. You'd like one play, maybe, but it was a lot of good.”
UP NEXT
Puck drop at Prudential Center is at 6 p.m. CT, with the game set to broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.
NOTES
- Saturday’s loss snapped the Predators 10-game winning streak against the Islanders, a stretch that began on Feb. 5, 2018.
- Despite the loss, Nashville’s playoff clinching magic number dropped to three on Saturday after the St. Louis Blues lost in overtime to the San Jose Sharks.
- Nashville's 94 shot attempts were the most recorded by the Predators in a single game since the stat started being tracked in 2013-14.
- Forsberg recorded a career-high 19 shot attempts against New York.
- Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Tyson Barrie, Dante Fabbro and Cody Glass were scratched and did not skate in Saturday’s game.
