The Islanders didn’t need anyone else to tell them what went wrong Saturday night at UBS Arena - they had that covered themselves. After coughing up a two-goal lead and ultimately falling 4-3 to the Predators, the frustration in the locker room was as clear as the breakdowns on the ice.
Let’s start with the dagger: Roman Josi’s game-winner with just 1:14 left in regulation. That goal not only sealed the loss, but also snatched away a point the Islanders might’ve stolen despite a shaky performance. It was a fitting end to a night where New York was chasing the game far more than they were dictating it.
Head coach Patrick Roy didn’t sugarcoat it. That second period?
“Probably our worst period of the year,” he said. The numbers back him up.
The Islanders were outshot 22-13 and gave up 12 high-danger chances to just five of their own, per Natural Stat Trick. Sloppy puck management, missed assignments, and a lack of urgency - it was all there.
And yet, Ilya Sorokin gave them a chance. The netminder turned aside 38 shots and was the only reason the Islanders were even in it late. Too often, though, the Predators had clean looks or skated freely into Sorokin’s crease, and that’s not a recipe for success - especially against a team trying to snap a three-game losing streak of its own.
The loss dropped the Islanders to 30-20-5 and knocked them two points behind the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division standings, with Pittsburgh still holding two games in hand. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets and Capitals are now within striking distance, just four points back.
“When these points are so important and you’re in a tie game late and you give one up, it’s really frustrating,” said defenseman Ryan Pulock. “You’ve got to get it to overtime and worry about the second [point] after.”
That urgency Pulock talked about? It wasn’t there consistently.
The Islanders struggled in the neutral zone, turning the puck over and failing to get deep into the offensive zone. Their defensive structure wobbled at key moments.
And the power play - which went 0-for-2 with just one shot - was a non-factor.
Instead of simplifying, the Islanders tried to get too fancy with the puck. That’s a tough way to win in February, especially against a desperate opponent.
“As a group, you’ve got to simplify in the neutral zone,” Pulock added. “Get it in and go chase it.
When we were doing that early in the first, we had a lot of looks, we had a lot of zone time. We didn’t really do that the rest of the game.”
Mathew Barzal echoed the sentiment: “We just couldn’t make plays. Our breakouts were not where they needed to be to change momentum in the second period. Credit to them, they pressured all night.”
Anders Lee didn’t mince words either: “We had a tough night, there’s no doubt about it. We know we have better.
It felt like we were under pressure quite a bit coming out of our zone. They were on top of us and we weren’t clearing pucks and we weren’t getting the blocks we wanted.
They played a good offensive game within the zone and over the 60 minutes, it wore on us.”
Even Roy had a moment he’d probably like back. Early in the third period, with the score tied 3-3, Tony DeAngelo appeared to give the Islanders the lead - only for the goal to be waved off due to goalie interference on Anthony Duclair.
Roy challenged the call, believing Duclair was outside the crease and had been bumped into Juuse Saros by Nashville defenseman Nick Perbix. No dice.
The call stood, and the Predators went on the power play. That dropped Roy to 0-for-3 on coach’s challenges this season, all for goalie interference.
“For us, incidental contact outside of the crease, we thought that was the right call to challenge,” Roy said. “I think Saros did a pretty good job to sell it.
Throw the blocker and everything. He might have an Oscar for that one.”
The game had started with promise. Barzal opened the scoring just 1:29 in, and rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer made it 2-0 less than five minutes later with his 15th of the season.
But the lead evaporated quickly. Filip Forsberg’s power-play rocket at 9:59 and Matthew Wood’s one-timer at 12:53 tied things up before the first period was even over.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead midway through the second with a rush goal, but Forsberg struck again at 14:11, tapping in his second of the night to tie it up. From there, the Islanders never found their footing again.
Notes:
- Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch due to illness after taking part in the morning skate.
- Rookie center Cal Ritchie (lower body) missed his fourth straight game. Roy said Ritchie likely won’t return before the Olympic break and may not skate until after.
“He tried [skating Friday], but not good enough,” Roy said.
- During a second-period stoppage, longtime sportswriter Neil Best was honored on the scoreboard for his 40 years covering New York sports, receiving a warm round of applause from the UBS Arena crowd.
The Islanders have shown they can play with structure and pace - we saw it during their three-game win streak. But Saturday night was a reminder that in this league, especially down the stretch, you can’t take shifts off. And when you do, a team like Nashville will make you pay.