The Nashville Predators finished off January with a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders Saturday. Nashville won the season series 2-0 against New York, with both games being within one goal.
Filip Forsberg scored two, Matthew Wood and Roman Josi tallied two points, and Juuse Saros stopped 27 of 30 shots faced.
"We haven't been too good in OT [on this trip], so thankfully we ended before. A big win for us. I thought after [they got the lead in the first], we got to our game. I think the second period, especially, was really good. [We] had a lot of looks, a lot of chances, and found a way in the third. But I think the last two periods were more our style of play. It was a big win.”"Roman Josi, per Brooks Bratten
The Islanders [30-20-5] tallied early in the period with Matthew Barzal potting a bouncing puck at 18:31. Matthew Schaefer extended the lead with his 15th of the season at 14:03
The Predators [25-23-6] got on the powerplay at 10:07 and at 10:01, Forsberg sniped one off a faceoff to hand Nashville their first.
Then at 7:07, Wood scored his first goal since Dec. 6 on a one-timer set up from Jonathan Marchessault, closing out first period scoring.
"He's been so good for us. He's obviously a young kid, and you can just tell his skill, his shot, he's going to be an unbelievable player for a lot of years. It’s not easy [being in his] first year in the NHL, but he's doing an amazing job. "Roman Josi
The second period went scoreless until Jean-Gabriel Pageau got his own rebound at 12:39 to give New York the lead.
Forsberg tied up the game at three with his second of the night. Additionally, Wood's second point of the game, a primary assist off the goal, marks the first time he's recorded a multi-point performance since Dec. 19.
In the third, the Islanders managed to find the back of the net, but it was called off for goaltender interference, bring the game back to a 3-3 tie.
Both teams saw their chances in the final frame but nobody was able to get it done. That was until Josi got ahold of the puck in the Islanders zone. Instead of passing the puck, Josi dances around with it and when Steven Stamkos screened goaltender Iyla Sorokin, he took a shot and made it through with 1:14 left in the game.
He is now the fifth defenseman outside North America to record 200 career goals and the first in Predators history, per NHL PR. The last defenseman to score it faster than Josi was Shea Weber who did so in 2019.
"It was an unbelievable effort. He’s a really special player, a really special person, and it's a lot of fun to learn from him on and off the ice. Just how he handles himself and his leadership style, I really admire."Matthew Wood, per Brooks Bratten
Nashville will head on home to play against the St. Louis Blues Monday. It's the final time the two will play against each other in the regular season this year.