Islanders 4, Predators 3
NEW YORK -- Left winger Nikolay Kulemin scored the go-ahead goal 6:42 into the third period Thursday night when the New York Islanders rallied with four consecutive goals to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 at the Barclays Center.
Center Anders Lee and right winger Kyle Okposo scored in the second period for the Islanders (2-1-1), who fell behind 2-0 early in the period.
Kulemin's rebound of a shot by center Brock Nelson gave the Islanders the lead 5:07 before center John Tavares added a valuable goal by following up his own shot, which had been blocked in front of the net by Predators center Cody Hodgson.
Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss had 44 saves.
Left winger Austin Watson and left winger Filip Forsberg staked the Predators to an early lead. Right winger James Neal scored with 5:24 left, but Nashville (3-1-0) could not get the equalizer and suffered its first loss.
Goalie Pekka Rinne, who gave up just two goals in the Predators' first three games, made 24 saves.
Watson was credited with the goal that gave the Predators the lead just 2:14 into the game. Islanders defenseman Marek Zidlicky tried clearing a rebound by Watson out of the crease, but the puck bounced off the left post and into the net.
The Predators doubled the lead after another flurry in the goal mouth 4:22 into the second. Neal's shot ticked off Greiss' glove and trickled toward the back of the net, where Tavares poked it out at the last moment. Forsberg crashed the net, but his rebound was shoveled out by defenseman Calvin de Haan. Forsberg followed with his own push back, which snuck over the goal line.
The Islanders cut the gap in half just 41 seconds later when Taveras wrapped the puck around the back of the Predators' net before passing into the crease to Lee, who tipped a shot past Rinne.
Okposo's breakaway goal tied the score with 8:04 remaining. Center Mikhail Grabovski's clearing pass hit Okposo in stride. Okposo then eluded defenseman Seth Jones' sliding attempt to poke the puck away and fired the puck off the crossbar and into the net.
NOTES: The Islanders scratched G Jaroslav Halak (upper-body injury) and RW Steve Bernier. Halak worked out before the morning skate Thursday. D Thomas Hickey resumed practicing Wednesday, 16 days after he suffered a broken thumb. ... For the Islanders, Thursday marked the fourth of five straight games against Western Conference opponents, the longest streak of nonconference games to begin a season in franchise history. The Islanders embarked upon season-opening four-game trips to Western Conference/Campbell Conference opponents in 1988-89, 1989-90, 1993-94 and 2006-07. ... The Predators scratched LW Viktor Arvidsson, D Victor Bartley and D Anthony Bitetto. ... This season marks the third time the Predators opened with at least three straight wins. The Predators were 8-0-0 in 2005-06 and 3-0-0 in 2010-11.