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The New York Islanders dropped their second game in a row last night, falling 4-1 to the Nashville Predators.
Cole Bardreau played his first NHL game of the season, while Josh Bailey re-entered the Islanders’ lineup, with Cal Clutterbuck injured and Ross Johnston as a scratch.
After a slow first half of the opening frame, it seemed like Anders Lee may have given the Islanders a lead, where the puck really looked like it crossed the goal line, despite a no-goal call. Then a little later, Nashville was able to open the scoring on a power play, with Filip Forsberg burying a nice pass from Matt Duchene, putting the Predators ahead through 20 minutes.
We saw Matt Martin fight Michael McCarron after throwing a big hit early in the second frame, and the Islanders managed a lot of shots on net in the first half of the period. Close to the midway mark of the frame though, Nashville capitalized on another power play (this time a 5-on-3), as Roman Josi ripped a one-timer past Sorokin to extend the lead. New York did have some chances, notably a breakaway for Mathew Barzal, but still entered the second intermission without a goal.
In the third period, the Islanders really took over and started to generate not only a high volume of shots, but also some great chances. Then midway through the frame, Mathew Barzal finally managed to get New York on the board, catching Kevin Lankinen moving the other way and scoring off a nice shot. New York continued to press afterwards with all the momentum, throwing 22 shots on net in the period, but some key saves from Lankinen held off the Islanders. Then late in the period, empty net goals from Matt Duchene and Mikael Grandlund secured a win for Nashville.
At the end of the day, this was a good effort from the Islanders, with an especially strong back 40 minutes. They ended up throwing 49 shots on Lankinen and while they may not have had quite as many good chances in the second period as their 18 shots indicated, they dominated the third period with a ton of opportunities.
Despite the second loss in a row, it was a drastically different effort from Tuesday’s loss to the Flyers. The Islanders were getting their chances but just couldn’t bury them.
Special teams made the difference in this one as well, with the Predators going 2-for-3 on the power play. While the Islanders did capitalize on one of their man advantages, it wasn’t enough.
Mathew Barzal also proved once again he just needs to shoot more sometimes. He has a good shot, and now with few goals this season, maybe he'll be encouraged to shoot a bit more often.
It was interesting to see that Ross Johnston couldn’t get into the lineup despite the injuries. If there’s one time to use him, it’s probably when there’s an opening on the fourth line.
The Islanders will be back in action tomorrow, when they face the Chicago Blackhawks.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Islanders’ four-game winning streak snapped in rematch against Flyers 
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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