The New York Islanders finally put an end to a long Music City frustration on Tuesday night, pulling out a shootout win over the Nashville Predators after letting a three-goal lead slip away.
It started well for New York. Anthony Duclair opened the scoring with his third goal of the season, finishing a play set up by Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Tony DeAngelo.
Nashville answered soon after. Brayden Schenn scored his fourth of the season on an assist from Ondrej Palat, and the goal also marked the 300th of Schenn’s career. The opening period turned into a penalty-heavy stretch for both sides, with each team getting three power-play chances, but the Islanders did a solid job of limiting one of the league’s top power plays.
The Islanders kept pushing in the second period and were rewarded when Bo Horvat buried his sixth goal of the season after strong passing from Simon Holmstrom and Matthew Schaefer.
That 2-1 edge didn’t last. After the Islanders took a penalty, Nashville broke through as Filip Forsberg scored his third of the season with help from Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos.
Then the Predators kept climbing back. Alexander Kerfoot scored his second of the year after Nashville pounced on a turnover in the Islanders’ zone, cutting the lead to 3-2.
New York’s power play then came up empty, and Nashville tied it when Ryan O'Reilly found a loose puck behind Semyon Varlamov and put it in for his seventh goal of the season.
The third period turned tense, with Nashville applying heavy pressure late, but the Islanders held on long enough to force overtime.
In the extra session, New York got a long power play after drawing a penalty, but even with close to four minutes of man advantage before Nashville could officially go on the penalty kill, the Islanders couldn’t finish the game there.
The shootout finally settled it. Kyle Palmieri scored first for New York, Varlamov stopped two attempts, and Horvat sealed the win with the final goal.
It was the Islanders’ first win in Nashville since 2017, and it kept them from losing a game in which they had built a three-goal cushion. New York heads to Minnesota next for a Thursday road game against the Wild.
In Other News...
Matthew Schaefer Is Putting An Untouchable NHL Teen Mark In Play
Matthew Schaefer has already done enough in a brief NHL career to make the Islanders pay attention every night, and the 19-year-old keeps stacking production at a pace that is hard to ignore. He has averaged nearly a point per game so far, and with the way he is being leaned on in New York, his scoring touch is no longer just a promising start. It is becoming part of the conversation around how far he can push this season.
The bigger picture is even more striking because Schaefer is still a teenager, which keeps the door open on a mark long considered out of reach. He is still tracking toward a huge year offensively, and the ice time he is getting suggests the Islanders are willing to let him learn on the fly while he drives play. If that usage continues, the chase could get very real before his next birthday. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Patience With Maxim Shabanov Looks Worse By The Week
Maxim Shabanov arrived on Long Island in 2025 with the kind of rsum that tends to buy a player a little patience. After a strong KHL season, the Russian winger was brought in to see whether his skill could translate to the NHL, but the Islanders never got much return on that bet during his rookie year. For a team that has spent years looking for offense wherever it can find it, the decision to move on from a player with upside already looked like a gamble.
Mathieu Darche made the call not to extend a qualifying offer, and Shabanov left to sign a one-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. Early in his new stop, he has looked far more comfortable than he ever did in the Islanders organization, and that is only sharpening the frustration around the original decision. With Shabanov producing right away elsewhere, the Islanders are left to wonder whether they were too quick to let a gifted scorer get away before he ever had a real chance to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Shake Up Lineup Again As Road Trip Pressure Builds
The Islanders are trying to steady things as they close out a three-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild, and head coach Peter DeBoer has turned to another lineup tweak in search of a cleaner look. Kyle MacLean is back after sitting out one game, giving the club a bit more balance up front as it tries to manage the wear and tear of the trip.
Matthew Kessel is the healthy scratch, and the move lets New York return to a 12-forward, 6-defensemen alignment with Ilya Sorokin set to start in goal. For a team still looking for the right mix on the road, the changes are less about a single player than about finding a structure that can hold up under pressure in a game the Islanders could use to settle in. [Read more 🡒]