Trenin, Tolvanen Lead Preds to Dramatic Victory Over Islanders

Yakov Trenin tied it, Eeli Tolvanen won it.
Tolvanen tipped in a Roman Josi point shot with just 12 seconds to play, and the Nashville Predators defeated the New York Islanders by a 4-3 final on Thursday night at UBS Arena. The result gives the Preds victories in their last three outings and two wins in as many tries halfway through their four-game trip.

Ryan Johansen tallied for the second straight contest, Colton Sissons added one of his own, and after going goalless since opening night, Tolvanen has now tipped in a shot for the third consecutive game - and none bigger than his strike on Thursday evening.
The Islanders scored the night's first goal when Austin Czarnik beat Preds netminder David Rittich short side, but before the opening period was out, Nashville had a lead of their own. First, Luke Kunin found Johansen at the top of the crease for a tap-in to score his second goal in as many games with less than three minutes to play, and just over a minute later, Sissons put home a rebound to give the Predators a 2-1 advantage.

New York tied the game in the second stanza when Anders Lee capitalized on the power play, and they took the lead once more with a Noah Dobson goal just five minutes into the third. But then Tanner Jeannot drove to the net with less than eight minutes to play, and Trenin got a bounce off a skate to beat Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov to even the score.
Turns out the Predators had no intention of going to overtime either as Tolvanen redirected Josi's shot with 11.5 seconds on the clock to allow his club to hit the 30-point mark - 31 to be exact - with a dramatic finish on Long Island.
Tolvanen's goal with 12 seconds remaining in the third period is tied for the second-latest go-ahead goal in franchise history: Martin Erat (59:51 on Dec. 22, 2011) and David Legwand (59:48 on Nov. 21, 2001). Rittich made 18 saves for his third victory of the season.

Thursday Storyline:

Searching for a visual aid for the definition of "gutsy" road win? Look no further.
Down 3-2 midway through the third period, Trenin - who fought 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara for the second time in his career earlier in the evening - scored the game-tying tally in a contest that appeared destined for overtime.
And then Tolvanen tipped another.
When the night was over, the Predators had found a way once more to prevail away from home for the seventh time this season, and two of the gutsiest efforts came from a pair of T's.
"I think it's team toughness," Tolvanen said of his team's success on the road. "Lately we've been playing really good hockey. I mean, we were down [with] seven minutes [to play in] the game, and it's just something that there's no quit today. I felt like all four lines were playing really well, and it was just a matter of time. We got those chances and two nice goals, and the third, but I feel like it's team toughness. We're playing really physical right now, and I think it's wearing teams down, too."

Trenin was indicative of that team toughness on Thursday night, and although he needed repairs after taking on Chara - just the 12th player in League history to fight the NHL's all-time tallest player more than once - the Russian winger returned and found an even bigger way to make an impact.
"I was really impressed with him," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said of Trenin. "I mean, he gets the big hit, he fights Chara, stands in there, and that was an unbelievable fight by both guys. But just the toughness the kid has, and then he comes off the ice, he gets seven stitches, he comes back out, plays great, continues to play his game and there was zero intimidation after that fight. He went in, he was physical, played his game, scored the game-tying goal and that's a little bit indicative - like, we talked to the team after like Trennny's a little bit indicative of our team. There's a mental toughness, a fortitude. We don't shrink in games. It was a hard-fought game tonight, but I give Trenny all the credit in the world. He's not going to back down, stood right in there and good for him, great for our team, good for the organization [to have] that type of a player with that type of mental and physical toughness."
After Trenin was done on the scoresheet, it was Tolvanen's turn, and his hand-eye coordination was on display once more.
"I do really give him credit," Hynes said of Tolvanen. "I mean, I can't necessarily say he's playing different or better now than he was when he wasn't scoring. I think the one difference now is he's found a different way to score than he did last year. Last year, he was shooting the puck straight in the net. And now he's got obviously the tip goals, but I think he's very consistent in his mindset and his play, but it's nice to see him [score]. I think players like that, they do get extra energy, I guess I would say, from scoring."
The individual efforts combined to create another collective output that saw Nashville collect their ninth win in their last 11 tries against the Islanders, a perfect way to start a back-to-back set in the New York metro.
"We knew they were going to come out hard and super competitive," Sissons said. "They are still looking for their first win in their building here, and I think we came pretty prepared for that. And it was a back-and-forth match, but we remained tough, stuck together, hung in there and [scored] some timely goals in the third."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Colton Sissons on Yakov Trenin fighting Zdeno Chara for the second time:
"That's got to be the pinnacle [of his toughness], I think. Super impressive by a young guy like that matching up with Chara, a tough customer, a massive customer, and hanging in there and doing a heck of a job. He certainly earned that goal after that."

Notes:

Preds defensemen Mattias Ekholm, who missed Tuesday's game due to a non-COVID illness, and fellow blueliner Matt Benning, who was out with an upper-body injury, both returned to the lineup on Thursday. Goaltender Juuse Saros missed his second-straight game with a non-COVID illness, while Connor Ingram backed up Rittich.
The Predators are right back at it on Friday night when they'll travel to Newark to face the New Jersey Devils before taking on the New York Rangers on Sunday evening in Manhattan.