After allowing Alexander Ovechkin’s record 895th goal, the New York Islanders will continue their playoff chase when they visit the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
The eyes of the sports world were on the Islanders’ 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday because Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s all-time goals list. But the bigger goal was gaining two points and New York never trailed in the game. The Islanders already held a 2-0 lead when Ovechkin’s milestone tally came 7:26 into the second period.
Or, as the Islanders posted on X: “WSH goal. 2-1 #Isles.”
“We knew what was at stake, that it was going to be an exciting game … and just a great environment for the league and for their team,” said Islanders captain Anders Lee. “And I think it ended up being a perfect scenario, getting to witness some pretty cool history while getting the two points. Makes it a memorable day for everyone involved. But at the end of the day, kind of where we’re at, we needed the win.”
New York (34-32-10, 78 points) remains seven points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference wild-card slot. The New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings sit between the Islanders and the Habs in the standings.
An 0-4-2 drought drastically set the Islanders back in their postseason push, but New York has won its last two games in the aftermath of that six-game slide. The Islanders now seek more success against one of the NHL’s worst teams as they set a season-high for goals in their 7-4 home victory over the Predators on March 1.
Nashville (27-42-8, 62 points) didn’t do the Islanders any favors in their playoff hunt on Sunday as the Predators dropped a 2-1 result to the Canadiens. Despite a 37-17 shots advantage, the Predators fell behind for good after allowing two goals to the Habs within a 4:07 span in the second period.
“Same story, different night,” said Nashville forward Michael McCarron. “It’s just been really frustrating in here to find ways to win games. … We probably played 55 really good minutes tonight. We had a five-minute lapse there in the second period, they scored two goals, and unfortunately we weren’t able to get more.”
The Predators are on a six-game losing streak and have been outscored 23-10 over that span. This is the third time this season Nashville has been mired in a winless streak of six or more games.
Filip Forsberg leads Nashville in goals (29), assists (41) and points (70).
Justus Annunen and Juuse Saros have mostly split the goaltending starts over the last six weeks, so Annunen likely will play Tuesday because Saros faced Montreal. Annunen has a 2.97 goals against average and an .896 save percentage over 21 games since Nashville acquired the goalie in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 30.
Ilya Sorokin will probably be in the opposing net as the Islanders figure to keep riding their starting goalie for these critical late-season games. Sorokin has played well over his last 13 games, going 7-4-2 with a 2.50 GAA and .914 save percentage.
Bo Horvat leads the Islanders in assists (27) and points (53) while Lee leads the club with 27 goals.
The Predators are 5-0-0 in their last five home games against the Islanders, dating back to the 2017-18 season.
–Field Level Media
