Power play propels Islanders past Predators
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- John Tavares scored three goals and Jordan Eberle tallied twice and New York's struggling power play returned to life with three goals in the Islanders' 6-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
Ryan Pulock also scored for the Islanders (6-4-1), who have won four of their last six games.
Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith scored the only goals for the Predators (5-4-2), who took six penalties after starting the night with an NHL-high 55.
New York's Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves, improving his career record to 14-3-4 against Nashville.
Nashville backup goalie Juuse Saros (0-3-0) endured a rough night, allowing six goals on 23 shots.
The Islanders' struggling power play got a much-needed goal when Eberle's wrist shot dribbled past Saros, who stopped it initially for a 1-0 lead at 4:21 of the first period while Ryan Johansen was in the penalty box for tripping.
New York was ranked last in the NHL with a 6.1 percent success rate with 2 goals in 33 power plays entering the game.
It was Eberle's first goal of the season after scoring 20 with Edmonton last season.
Forsberg tied the score at 1 when he lifted a wrist shot into the right corner of the net over a sprawling Halak at 3:55 of the second period.
Moments earlier, Halak made a skate save on Kevin Fiala and Forsberg scooped up the rebound and skated around Halak in the crease for his team-high eighth goal of the season.
Forsberg scored 31 goals last year and a career-high 33 in 2015-16.
The Islanders' revitalized power play struck again when Pulock fired a one-timer through traffic from inside the center of the blue line, giving New York a 2-1 lead at 9:49 of the second period.
Pulock's blast found the left side of the net six seconds after Bitetto, a defenseman from Island Park, N.Y., was sent to the box for hooking.
Eberle scored again with 30 seconds left in the second period when his wrist shot trickled past Saros, increasing the Islanders' lead to 3-1.
Tavares quickly made it 4-1 New York when the Islanders captain poked home a shot from the right side of the crease 12 seconds into the third period quieting the crowd at Bridgestone Arena.
Saros got some bad luck on the next goal when Lee's close range shot bounced off the skates of Yannick Weber and Calle Jarnkrok before ricocheting off Tavares and into the net, giving New York a commanding 5-1 lead at 2:52 of the third period.
The Islanders scored their third power-play goal when Tavares' wrist shot found the top left corner of the net, extending New York's lead to 6-1 at 7:26 of the third period while Mikka Salomaki was in the box for tripping.
Smith's scored on the power play when his wrister beat Halak glove-side, narrowing the deficit to 6-2 at 14:57 of the third period.
NOTES: The Predators played their second game in as many nights after winning 2-1 at Chicago on Friday as Pekka Rinne made 43 saves. ... The Islanders scratched C Alan Quine, D Thomas Hickey and D Scott Mayfield. ... Nashville starts a four-game road trip at San Jose on Wednesday. ... New York hosts Vegas on Monday in its first game against the expansion team that has won eight of its first nine games. ... Nashville fell to 3-1-1 at home and New York improved to 4-0 on the road.