Preds Hold Off Islanders for 5-4 Win

Juuso Parssinen tallied two goals and an assist, and Roman Josi had four assists in the Nashville Predators' 5-4 win over the New York Islanders Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.
After home wins over the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild earlier this week, the Preds have won three consecutive games for the first time in 2022-23.

THREE TAKEAWAYS

Starting Off Strong
The first period of Thursday's game was one of the best periods of Preds hockey so far in 2022-23. Nashville scored three goals in the first 9:41 of the game and racked up 18 shots on goal through the first frame. The Preds also won 75% of faceoffs in the first period and dished out three hits and four blocks.

Filip Forsberg buried his sixth goal of the season on the rebound from a Josi shot just 63 seconds into the game to extend his team lead in points to 16. Adam Pelech tied it 1-1 at 2:42, but the Preds retook the lead as Colton Sissons scored his first goal of the 2022-23 campaign on a deflection at 8:43 of the first period.

Less than a minute after Sissons scored, Nino Niederreiter tallied his team-high eighth goal of the season with a one-timer from the outer edge of the face-off circle to extend Nashville's lead to 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

The Kid's Alright
Parssinen, the 21-year-old forward who made his NHL debut on Saturday against the Rangers and scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot, found the scoresheet again on Thursday with two goals and an assist.

In addition to dishing out his first career NHL assist on Forsberg's goal in the first period, Parssinen tallied a goal of his own in the second to extend the Predators' lead to 4-1. New York cut it to 4-3 with goals from Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Palmieri in the third period, but Parssinen scored an insurance goal on the power play at 9:52 to give Nashville a 5-3 lead.
Captain's Apples
Josi (4a) assisted on all three goals in the first period and on Parssinen's power-play goal in the third period. Thursday was the third time in his career that he has had three assists in a single period.

Per NHL PR, Josi became the fourth active defenseman to record three points in a opening 10 minutes of a game, following Michael Stone with the Calgary Flames (1g-2a on Oct. 15, 2022), Alex Pietrangelo with the St. Louis Blues (3a on April 4, 2019) and Noah Hanifin with the Carolina Hurricanes (1g-2a on Dec. 21, 2017).

THEY SAID IT

Josi on Nashville's strong first period:
"I think we just played really well as a team. I think we had a great first period. I think it was one of probably our best periods all year. We put a lot of pressure on them, a lot of zone time, a lot of chances, a lot of good looks. They sometimes make great plays. I mean, Sisson's goal was a great tip, Nino made a great play, and Filip obviously back door, but I think just getting pucks into the net and they went in in the first."

Josi on playing on a D-pair with Ryan McDonagh:
"He's such a great player. I mean, just from playing against him for so many years and he's unbelievable defensively. He's got a great hockey sense. Made great plays out there. It's really easy to play with him. I mean there's a reason he's won two Stanley Cups. He's an amazing player and it was a lot of fun to play with him."
Josi on staving off New York's late rally:
"They're a good team. I mean, I think we obviously got away from our game a little bit and kind of gave them a chance to come back but we found a way to win it. It's been kind of our thing, the last few games just finding ways to win and that's all that matters. Obviously there's some things we can do to be better, but it's great to get some wins here at home."
Head Coach John Hynes on Nashville's overall effort:
"We certainly got off to the start of the game that we wanted. And then I thought the second period we've been having some issues, the last few games. I thought the first part of the second period was good and then we gave up some big plays. I thought that they got some momentum from that. The start of the third period, I think it was better in certain areas, but it's a hard league and there's good teams. There's teams that can come from behind. You have to be able to play with the lead, but the key is finding ways to win. We made enough plays tonight to give ourselves a chance to win and that's good on the guys for finding the way."

Hynes on Parssinen's third-period tally:
"That was a big goal for him, three games into his NHL career. I thought his first one was excellent, but his second one he didn't play as much of a power speed game that makes him the player that he is. I thought he was back to that style of game tonight and obviously where he gets the goal is in the heart area right around the slot. It was nice to see him have a great game, have an OK game and then come back with the necessary adjustments in mindset. He and I had a discussion about it. The nice thing about him is I think he understands what his game is and what he needs to do and it was simple. I don't think you want to overcomplicate it with a player like him, but it was more to be an escaping power forward. And when he does that, the rest of his game usually will fall into place."

UP NEXT

The Preds are back in action Saturday night, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Bridgestone Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game.