Varlamov Gets First Win Since Injury, Islanders Finally Beat Predators In Nashville With 4-3 Shootout Win

NASHVILLE, TX -- For the first time since Oct. 28, 2017, the New York Islanders (6-4-2) won in Nashville, defeating the Predators 4-3 in a shootout to snap a two-game skid. 

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who made his fourth start of the season, made x saves on x shots to earn his first win since Nov. 14, 2024, when he made 24 saves on 26 shots in a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks. 

Here's how it happened:

The Islanders got the party started at 3:07 of the first period when Jean-Gabriel Pageau, at 4-on-4, found a crashing Anthony Duclair in the low slot:

Exactly five minutes later, Ondrej Palat found Brayden Schenn wide open at the back post to make it a 2-0 game:

That was Schenn's 300th goal of his NHL career. 

The Islanders scored their third unanswered goal at 1:08 of the second period after Bo Horvat ripped a Mathew Schaefer one-timer home:

That goal extended Schaefer's point streak to five games (two goals, three assists) and put him tied with Scott Stevens for the sixth most points by a teenage defenseman in NHL history, with 70:

Filip Forsberg got the Predators on the board at 3:07 of the second period while on the power play after he buried a backdoor feed from Jonathan Marchessault:

The Predators inched closer at 8:07 of the middle frame with Alex Kerfoot burying a loose puck after Varlamov made two strong saves on Nils Hoglander following a Matthew Schaefer turnover. 

The Predators evened the score at 4:16 of the third period after Ryan O'Reilly buried his own rebound, a loose puck sititng behind Varlamov. 

The game went to overtime where the Islanders found themselves on a power play but couldn't score.

The game would need a shootout where Kyle Palmieri and Horvat scored, with Varlamov denying both shots that came his way for the 4-3 win. 

UP NEXT: Islanders face the Minnesota Wild at 8 PM ET on Thursday to conclude their three-game road trip.