Islanders slip past Predators in OT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The New York Islanders were just looking stay in the postseason chase. The Nashville Predators were looking for a playoff tuneup.
Defenseman Thomas Hickey scored 1:25 into overtime to give the Islanders a 2-1 win over the Predators on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.
The Islanders needed a win -- and some help -- to stay alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They are five points behind the eighth-place Toronto Maple Leafs with three games remaining.
The Predators lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
The Islanders tied the score 1-1 only 1:32 into the third period when Brock Nelson, who already had a handful of scoring chances, beat Pekka Rinne with a wicked wrist shot into the upper corner.
Rinne had posted five straight scoreless periods before the Nelson goal.
The Predators had taken a 1-0 lead with 12:57 left in the second period on Mike Fisher's goal.
Linemate Colin Wilson set up the score, making a strong run down the left wing before sliding a pass into the slot for Fisher, who easily knocked the puck into a largely open net. It was the 18th goal of the season for Fisher, leaving him two shy of 20 for the seventh time in his career.
Rinne, coming off a shutout win over Minnesota in his last outing, blanked the Islanders through the opening two periods.
The Islanders had looked like the more desperate team during a scoreless opening 20 minutes, outshooting the Predators 13-7.
Left winger Anders Lee forced Rinne to make one of his most difficult saves with 4:07 left in the first period as Rinne stopped Lee's short-range backhand on the power play. With 2:44 left in the first, Nelson missed the net on a point-blank attempt from the slot.
NOTES: Predators D Brad Hunt, who was claimed Jan. 17 on waivers from St. Louis, made his Nashville debut. ... Predators LW Miikka Salomaki, who hadn't played since Oct. 15 with a lower-body injury, returned to the lineup. ... Nashville sold out every home game this season, a record for the franchise. ... The Predators scratched D Anthony Bitetto, D Yannick Weber, LW James Neal, LW Harry Zolnierczyk, LW Austin Watson and C Vernon Fiddler. ... The Islanders scratched D Travis Harmonic, C Shane Prince, C Ryan Strome, C Casey Cizikas, LW Nikolay Kulemin, C John Tavares and G Jean-Francois Berube. ... The Islanders played their second consecutive game without captain John Tavares, who will miss the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury.