3 Takeaways: Islanders Edged in 4-3 Loss to Nashville

In a dramatic back-and-forth game, the New York Islanders were edged 4-3 by the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at UBS Arena.
With the loss, the Islanders' point streak ended at four games (1-0-3) and they are also 0-4-2 in their last six games against Nashville.

Austin Czarnik, Anders Lee (power play) and Noah Dobson scored for the Islanders, while Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves on 29 shots in the loss.
Eeli Tolvanen scored Nashville's game winner with 11.5 seconds left in regulation, while Yakov Trenin, Ryan Johansen and Colton Sissons also found the back of the net. David Rittich made 18 saves on 21 shots in the win.
"I thought we played pretty well, they didn't have a lot of chances and we didn't have a lot of chances," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We deserved at least a point, maybe two tonight, but that's not the way it's going for us right now. That one hurt because I thought we played a pretty solid game against a pretty good team."

ISLANDERS PRESS, BUT UNABLE TO HOLD OFF PREDS

With the score tied 2-2 heading into the third period, the Islanders came out with a winning mentality, and while they were close, they fell short. Early in the third frame, they pressed hard and were rewarded with Dobson's goal in what seemed might be the game winner, but Nashville ushered a commanding and decisive response to ultimately claim the two points.
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"It's a tough one to swallow," Lee said following the loss. "Give ourselves a lead in the third and we weren't able to shut it down. This one sucks."
Right from the get-go the Islanders were buzzing to start the third and nearly capitalized on a 2-on-1 rush between Barzal and Lee. While Rittich came up with a timely and huge stop on that look, he was beaten by Dobson's long-range shot at 5:08.
On a low-to-high passing sequence Ross Johnston sent the puck to Andy Greene who zipped it to his d-partner. Dobson picked his corner and wired a wrist shot from the point past Rittich for the Islanders' 3-2 go-head goal and his second goal of the season, all while skating in his 100th-career game.

The 3-2 lead was short lived as Nashville tied it up at 12:31 on Trenin's tally. After exiting the puck out of their zone and counter attacking, Tanner Jeannot jetted up the ice and sent a centering feed into the low slot. Trenin tapped in the pass through Varlamov.
As both teams vied back-and-forth in the waning and fast-paced final minutes of the period, the Predators pulled out the shocking comeback win with 11.5 seconds on the clock.
Nashville circled the puck around the Islanders' zone and an attempted clearing attempt was stopped by Roman Josi. Josi sent a wrister into traffic and Tolvanen connected his stick with the shot to redirect it past Varlamov.
Nashville's prior goals were scored in the span of 1:24 in the first period, both ignited by forcing an offensive turnover from the Islanders and ushering a quick counterattack.
The Islanders had gone from holding a 1-0 lead to entering the first intermission with a 2-1 deficit to the Predators.
After chipping the puck out of their zone and pressuring the Islanders' defensemen, the Preds took advantage of a turnover by Luke Kunin. Kunin stripped Aho of the puck, cut to the slot and dropped the puck on the doorstep for Johansen to bury past Varlamov at 17:28.
The Predators capitalized on their second tally just 1:24 after Johansen's tying goal. Varlamov kicked out a rebound on Jeannot's long-range one timer, but a wide-open Sissons buried the puck on the back door at 18:52.
With the loss, the Islanders are still in search of their first win on home ice.
"We've had games in this building we could have won, and for whatever reason we haven't closed it out," Lee said. "There are a lot of individual games you look at and how close they were and we came out on the wrong side and it just happens to be that we strung them together in this building."

BELLOWS, CZARNIK, WAHLSTROM LINE MAKES AN IMPACT

After combining for six points (2G, 4A) in the Islanders' much-needed 5-3 win - that snapped an 11-game (0-8-3) winless skid - over Ottawa on Tuesday night, Trotz complimented the efforts from the Kieffer Bellows, Czarnik and Oliver Wahlstrom line, who skated in their third-straight game together.
The line continued that success against the Predators.

Czarnik put the Islanders on the board with the game's icebreaker at 6:48. Similar to their tic-tac-toe goal against Ottawa where Bellows found the back of the net, the trio executed a quick passing sequence up the ice, finishing off with Czarnik crashing the crease to bury Wahlstrom's feed and give the Islanders a 1-0 lead.
"We were buzzing in the last game and tonight we came out with a good push to start," Czarnik said. "Bellows made a good play to Wahlstrom and Wahlstrom made a good play to me. We've been rolling together and building confidence with each other."

SPECIAL TEAMS SHINE

While the result wasn't ideal, the Islanders shined in their special teams battle over the Preds as they were 1-for-2 on the power play and a perfect 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
After going down 2-1 late in the first period and being outshot 11-6, including putting up only one shot through the final 12 minutes of the frame, the Islanders came out with a big response early in the second period on the power play.

Predators forward Yakov Trenin went to the box for interference giving the Islanders' their first man advantage of the game. Mathew Barzal's attempted cross-slot pass hit off traffic and took a change in direction towards Nashville's net. At the goal mouth, Lee jammed in the loose puck to provide the Islanders with their 2-2 equalizer at 1:56.
In the first period, the Islanders' penalty kill came up with a pivotal stop on Nashville's 10th ranked power play in the league. Zdeno Chara took exception to a hit Trenin laid on Sebastian Aho and their pair dropped the gloves in a gory fight. Chara was administered a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct in addition to the fighting penalties they both received. And while Nashville's power play generated a storm of chances, the Islanders PK kept them off the sheet.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.