Josi breaks tie late in 3rd, Predators edge Islanders to end 3-game skid

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Roman Josi scored the go-ahead goal with 1:14 remaining in the third period, and the Nashville Predators won 4-3 against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday.

Josi, who also had an assist, gave Nashville a 4-3 lead after beating Ilya Sorokin glove side from the high slot for his 200th NHL goal.

“Yeah, that’s a big win for us,” Josi said. “They came out hard and kind of put a lot of pressure on us, obviously, got the lead, and we got huge two goals to come back. And I thought after that, we kind of got to our game. And I think the second period, especially, was really good.

“A lot of looks, a lot of chances to find a way in the third. I think the last two periods were more, you know, our style of play, and that was a big one on this.”

Filip Forsberg scored twice, and Matthew Wood also had a goal and an assist for the Predators (25-23-6), who had lost three in a row (0-1-2) and five of six (1-3-2). Juuse Saros made 27 saves.

“I loved our game,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “Since the first part of the first period, I think we were a little slow starting time. The power play got a huge goal for us. It kind of got us back in; we were taking on quite a bit of water. They were storming. I felt like the roof of the building was going to blow off.

“And then we settled in. And then I thought we controlled the game from then out, and we could see, when we do certain things, the team that we can be.”

Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist, and Matthew Schaefer and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for the Islanders (30-20-5), who had won three straight and four of six. Sorokin made 38 saves.

“They were playing down most of the night, so when you're behind, you usually change your style a little bit,” Barzal said. “You're pinching, you're a little more aggressive. And we just had a tough time with their pressure tonight. I mean, I think that's really what it came down to, their forecheck.

“We had a really tough time breaking the puck out. We can't give up that many shots. I mean, Sorokin kept us in there. So, it's unfortunate, tough loss. I mean, really tough.”

Barzal gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 1:29 of the first period. Saros saved an Anthony Duclair slot shot before Barzal knocked the puck out of the air, off the left post, and off Saros’ blocker and in.

Schaefer extended it to 2-0 at 5:57. He skated deep into the left face-off circle before he beat Saros low glove side with a semi-toe drag wrist shot.

Forsberg’s power-play goal cut it to 2-1 at 9:59 when he beat Sorokin over the blocker from just inside the right circle.

Wood tied it 2-2 at 12:53 after he wired a one-timer from the slot off the blocker-side post. Schaefer turned the puck over behind his net before Jonathan Marchessault found him cutting in unguarded.

“Yeah, it's been definitely a lot longer than I would have hoped,” said Wood, who ended a 22-game goal drought. “It was a lot of relief, and hopefully it will continue for me.”

Sorokin denied Erik Haula’s five-hole try on a short-handed breakaway at 17:19 before reaching out to get his blocker on Josi’s rebound try a second later, at 17:20.

Pageau gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 7:21 of the second period. Pageau’s initial try was blocked by Brady Skjei’s skate before he put in the loose puck.

Forsberg’s second goal of the game tied it 3-3 at 14:11. Wood found him at the glove-side post, beating Sorokin glove side.

Michael Bunting looked to have a wide-open net, but Sorokin sprawled, getting his glove on the shot to keep the game tied at 15:50.

Sorokin stopped 21 of 22 shots he faced in the second.

“In the second, I thought that they put a lot of pressure on us, and we didn't do a very good job on the wall or decision on the breakouts,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “We were not as connected as we should have been, and they took advantage of it. Ilya made some fantastic saves, kept us in it, and they tied the game, but we were right there going into the third … [The second] was probably our worst period of the year. Sloppy, a bit of everything.”

Tony DeAngelo appeared to score at 1:10 of the third period, but the goal was immediately waved off after Duclair knocked Saros down. The Islanders challenged, but the call on the ice was upheld after video review.

Saros got the left pad on an Emil Heineman shot with five seconds to play in the third for the 4-3 final.

NOTES: Josi became the 24th defenseman in NHL history to reach the 200-goal milestone. The last blueliner to score 200 goals faster than Josi (1,004 games) was Shea Weber (912th game on March 8, 2019). He also scored his 38th career game-winning goal and tied Erik Karlsson and Brian Leetch for the 10th most in NHL history by a defenseman. … Schaefer scored his 15th goal of the season to pass Vladimir Malakhov (14 goals in 1992-93) for the second most in a season by an Islanders rookie defenseman. Only Denis Potvin (17 in 1973-74) has more. … Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin missed the game due to illness.