3 Takeaways: Slow Start Hampers Isles in 5-4 Loss to Preds

Nashville has not been kind to the New York Islanders over the years and Thursday night was no exception.
The Islanders fell to 0-6-2 in their last eight games against the Preds and 0-3-1 in their last four trips to Bridgestone Arena after a 5-4 loss.

Adam Pelech, Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Palmieri and JG Pageau scored for the Islanders, but it was not enough to overcome a slow start and multiple goal deficits. Roman Josi's four assists and Jusso Parssinen's three-point game (2G, 1A) paced the Predators, who also got goals from Filip Forsberg, Colton Sissons and Nino Niederreiter.
"We have some things to look at and feel good about from tonight's game," Palmieri said. "But at the end of day, a loss is a loss and the first period was the reason we were behind."

SLOW START SINKS ISLES:

A slow start plagued the Islanders, who allowed the opening goal for the 12th time in 18 games this season. The Islanders were swarmed by the Predators early, with Filip Forsberg scoring 63 seconds into the game and Nashville taking a 3-1 lead by the 9:41 mark.
Forsberg's goal came at the end of some early pressure by the Predators, who found success creating traffic in front of Ilya Sorokin.
That led to the Predators next two tallies. Colton Sissons made it 2-1 at 8:43 getting to the front of the net and redirecting a Cole Smith pass by Sorokin. Nino Niederreiter made it 3-1 less than a minute later when his shot caromed off the former Islander and in.
Adam Pelech's goal - a slap pass that redirected off Dante Fabbro's stick and did an about face on Juuse Saros - briefly had the Islanders in a 1-1 tie, but that was the high point for the Islanders in the first. Nashville had an 18-7 shot advantage, a 26-11 attempt advantage and a 6-0 high danger chance advantage through 20 minutes. The Islanders also had a 10-minute stretch in the middle of the frame without a shot on goal.
"We've got to find a way to have better starts," Anders Lee said. "It's a tough building to come in and play in, especially the first 20, but you can't go down multiple goal deficits. You have to keep it closer than that and give yourself time to settle into the game and withstand their pressure and we didn't do that tonight."

ISLES COMEBACK BID FALLS SHORT:

Things looked bleak when Juuso Parssinen made it 4-1 5:01 into the second period, but that didn't stop the Islanders from mounting a comeback bid.
"We kind of left Ilya out to dry there at the start, but we came together as a group," Casey Cizikas said. "We believe in one another here so we just keep pushing, we keep moving forward and we keep getting better as the game goes on."
After quality looks from Oliver Wahlstrom - who missed on a solid look - and Cizikas - who was denied by an outstretched Saros on a rebound, the Islanders finally broke through. Pelech's point shot was deflected by Matt Martin before hitting Cal Clutterbuck and making it 4-2 at 15:41. Wahlstrom was sprung on a partial breakaway on the next shift, but was denied by Saros' blocker.
That left the Islanders down two goals heading into the third period, a familiar spot they'd rallied out of three times this season. The Islanders seemingly carried that momentum into the third period, as Saros deflected a JG Pageau pass right to Kyle Palmieri in the slot, which the Islanders winger promptly buried to make it a one-goal game.

The Islanders looked to be on the cusp of another comeback as they outshot the Predators 11-0 to start the third period, but that momentum came to a screeching halt, as Nashville scored on its first shot of the period to re-take a two-goal lead. Parssinen deflected his second goal of the game just six seconds into a Predators power play, as the Isles PK allowed their 10th goal in the past 10 games.
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Even then, Pageau revived the Islanders comeback hopes with a power-play goal with 4:21 to play, but that's as close as the Islanders came.
"We answered back pretty well, we had lots chances and a couple of posts," Noah Dobson said. "We had a terrible start, but we could have won that game. So we just have to be ready to go from the start in Dallas and build on the last 30 [minutes]."

JOHNSTON STAYS IN:

Ross Johnston stayed in the lineup for Thursday's game, playing in consecutive games for the first time this season.
That meant that Josh Bailey was a healthy scratch for the second straight contest. Bailey was also a healthy scratch for consecutive games on Feb. 24 and 26 last season against the San Jose Sharks and LA Kings respectively.
Head Coach Lane Lambert said the decision was opponent specific, opting for Johnston's size against a big Predators team. Johnston finished the game with 6:12 TOI, but did not play a shift in the second half of the game.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders' road trip continues in Dallas on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. eastern.