Svechkov wins it at 1:56 for Nashville; New York loses ground in East wild card
Islanders at Predators | Recap
By Robby Stanley
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators tied it with two goals in the final 2:07 of the third period before winning 7-6 in overtime against the New York Islanders at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.
Fedor Svechkov scored at 1:56 of overtime on a wrist shot from the slot.
NYI@NSH: Svechkov lifts Predators past Islanders in overtime
Steven Stamkos pulled the Predators to within 6-5 at 17:53 of the third on a wrist shot from the high slot on the power play. Michael Bunting then tied it 6-6 at 19:20 on a redirection of a Stamkos shot.
“It’s just a crazy night,” Stamkos said. “One of those throwback games with a lot of goals. Obviously, a long time coming for us. We kind of talked about it this morning. I think [Predators assistant coach Todd Richards] made a joke about the hockey gods not really rewarding us for goals. Well, we got some tonight, so it was great to see.”
Stamkos had two goals and two assists, and Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei each had three assists for the Predators (28-42-8), who ended a six-game losing streak. Justus Annunen made 16 saves.
NYI@NSH: Stamkos evens the game at 3 with PPG in 2nd
Simon Holmstrom had two goals and two assists, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had three assists for the Islanders (34-32-11), who had won consecutive games.
Ilya Sorokin allowed four goals on 23 shots in two periods before leaving the game because of an upper-body injury. Marcus Hogberg came in to start of the third and allowed three goals on nine shots.
“He should be OK,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said of Sorokin. “We just didn’t want to take any chances and make sure that he was OK.”
New York is eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Montreal defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday.
“We’ve been facing this kind of stuff all year, just in this position where we’re at,” Islanders forward Anders Lee said. “This one hurts. So just regroup tomorrow and have a great game Thursday.”
Kyle Palmieri gave the Islanders a 5-4 lead at 15:21 of the third period on a backhand from the left circle after dangling around Stamkos and Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg.
NYI@NSH: Palmieri lifts backhand home for 5-4 lead in 3rd
Scott Mayfield gave the Islanders a 6-4 lead at 16:19 on a wrist shot from the slot on a short-handed 3-on-2 rush.
“There’s nights like this,” Roy said. “I mean there’s nights where you’re not playing your best and your legs are not there. I thought that was the case for us tonight. But we had the lead with a couple minutes left in the game.”
Holmstrom gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 4:16 of the first period on a redirection from the slot of a pass from Ryan Pulock.
Ryan O'Reilly tied it 1-1 at 6:44 on the rebound of a shot from Bunting. It was O’Reilly’s 300th NHL goal.
NYI@NSH: Forsberg buries his 30th goal of the season
Filip Forsberg gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 11:45 on a turnaround wrist shot from the left circle.
“Honestly, good for us,” Marchessault said. “We found a way to win a hockey game, and it’s been hard for us this year to do that. But tonight we did.”
Anders Lee tied it 2-2 for the Islanders at 16:12 on a redirection. Adam Pelech took the original shot that bounced off of Bo Horvat and then Lee.
Holmstrom gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 4:36 of the second period on a one-timer from the right circle on a pass from Pageau.
Stamkos scored for the Predators to make it 3-3 at 7:24 on a one-timer on the power play.
Maxim Tsyplakov gave the Islanders a 4-3 lead at 12:09 on a pass from Holmstrom.
Michael McCarron scored for the Predators to make it 4-4 at 13:25 on a rebound of his own shot.
“We talked about finding a way to finish strong and trying to build on it,” Stamkos said. “That’s where we are. It’s a [tough] situation, but you want to feel good about yourself each and every night. You never know how many games you’re going to get to play in this league so you take advantage when you can.”
NOTES: Marchessault returned to the lineup after missing the past four games because of a lower-body injury. … Forsberg extended his team record with his fifth 30-goal season.
