Roman Josi went coast-to-coast to score the game-winning goal with 1:14 left in the third period for the Nashville Predators, who overcame an early two-goal deficit to edge the New York Islanders 4-3 on Saturday night in Elmont, N.Y.
With the teams playing 4-on-4, Josi raced up the left side of the ice, eluded Islanders left winger Emil Heineman and turned around near the left faceoff circle to avoid three New York players. He then took a few strides and fired a shot that sailed past Ilya Sorokin, who was screened by teammate Carson Soucy as well as Nashville center Steven Stamkos.
Filip Forsberg scored twice while Matthew Wood also had a goal for the Predators, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the second time in seven games (2-3-2). Goalie Juuse Saros made 27 saves, including two against Heineman and Mathew Barzal in the final 14 seconds.
Matthew Schaefer and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Barzal scored for the Islanders, who had their three-game winning streak halted. Goalie Ilya Sorokin recorded 38 saves.
Barzal and Schaefer staked the Islanders to a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the first period.
Tony DeAngelo’s pass into the slot to Anthony Duclair bounced off Duclair’s stick and to Barzal, who swatted a shot past Saros at 1:29. Schaefer doubled the lead 4:28 later, when he took a pass from Ryan Pulock, skated into the center of the left faceoff circle and beat Saros glove side.
Forsberg started the Predators’ comeback by scoring a power-play goal with 10:01 left in the first, when Ryan O’Reilly won a faceoff before Forsberg scored from the top of the right faceoff circle.
A nifty backhanded feed from behind the net by Jonathan Marchessault set up Wood’s game-tying score just 2:54 later, when he rang a shot off the far post.
Pageau put the Islanders ahead with an unusual goal 7:21 into the second. The center’s attempted pass to Anders Lee glanced off the stick of Predators defenseman Brady Skjei and back to Pageau, whose second shot trickled past Saros.
The Predators tied the score in similar fashion with 5:49 left, when Forsberg’s shot deflected off Pageau’s stick and bounced behind Sorokin before the puck skittered over the goal line.
A potential go-ahead goal by DeAngelo was waved off due to goalie interference on Duclair 1:10 into the third.
–Field Level Media
