Islanders Fall 3-1 to Predators in Dying Seconds of Third After defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-2023-24-41-games-player-grades] kicked off their four-game road trip with a 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators. Here's how it happened: It was a back-and-forth opening period between the Islanders and the Nashville Predators, with Barry Trotz's squad on the second of a back-to-back. Both teams had their offensive zone time, and both Ilya Sorokin and Juuse Saros were dialed in. First-period shots were 9-7 in favor of Long Island. Oliver Wahlstrom was a standout, with two shots on goal in 3:42 minutes, as he made smart reads in all three zones, including beating out an icing a between the leg room to create a better shooting lane. The Islanders, who killed off an Anders Lee penalty to start the second period, only had two shots on goal through 7:43 minutes of action, ending the period with 10 to the Predators' six. The Islanders defensive structure put forth one of their stronger performances of the season, as it was a full team effort in the defensive zone. The chances were there offensively, with Brock Nelson and Pierre Engvall with prime chances, both firing shots at Saros' five-hole. Matt Martin fired a one-timer from the high slot, but Saros was rather aggressive to bail out his team. Later on in the period, Sebastian Aho tried to sneak one in short side but Saros was up for the challenge. The Islanders would get two glorious chances to find the back of the net in the third as Kyle Palmieri missed the net on a 2-on-1 with Holmstrom before Barzal missed the net from the top of the crease, also via a pass from Holmstrom. Their first registered shot on goal came with 9:48 to play in the third. Jean-Gabriel gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead with eight minutes to play, as on the backhand, he redirected a Noah Dobson slap pass for his fifth of the season. That gave Dobson is 37th assist and fifth over his last two games. After Palmieri turned the puck over, he eventually took a tripping penalty with 6:47 to play in the third. The Islanders failed to kill off the penalty as Luke Evangelista beat Sorokin through an Adam Pelech screen with 4:52 to play in the third to tie the game at 1-1. On a failed clear attempt by Matt Martin, the Predators scored with 7.9 seconds to play in the third as Alexandre Carrier's shot deflected off Scott Mayfield and over Sorokin. Juuso Parssinen scored on the empty net to make it a 3-1 game. UP NEXT: Islanders head to Minnesota for a Monday night showdown against the Wild, the first of a back-to-back before facing the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night. LINES: Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Oliver Wahlstrom Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson – Hudson Fasching Simon Holmstrom -- Mathew Barzal -- Kyle Palmieri Matt Martin -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Cal Clutterbuck Alexander Romanov – Noah Dobson Adam Pelech – Scott Mayfield Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho Ilya Sorokin Ken Appleby
