Nearly two years since his last official victory and two partial knee replacements later, Semyon Varlamov added regular season win number 290 to his NHL career in the most surprising of places, as the Islanders prevailed in Nashville via shootout after the open play portion of the game finished 3-3.
Not as dramatic but every bit as satisfying, the Islanders hadn’t won in Nashville since well before Varlamov joined them: that was in 2017, when John Tavares (who scored a hat trick) was captain and Doug
Weight was coach.
The Islanders blew a 3-0 lead in the latter half of the second period and early part of the third, then hung on with a gutsy defensive and goaltending effort to force OT. Varlamov turned away both shots he faced (well, one was a smart pokecheck on Ryan O’Reilly, the other was a shot wide), while Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat each cashed in theirs.
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It was a nice start for the Islanders in a penalty-heavy first period. Anthony Duclair got them on the board with some smart play at 4-on-4, leading a rush with J-G Pageau and getting inside his man to redirect Pageau’s pass in from just above the crease.
That gave the Isles a 1-0 lead at 3:07, and five minutes later they doubled it after some nice if chaotic work around the Predators’ zone, Brayden Schenn ultimately slipping a loose puck in after he fumbled his initial shot. Whatever works.
The Islanders picked up where they left off to start the second period, with a really impressive shift among Simon Holmstrom, Bo Horvat and Anthony Duclair. They cycled and moved to space in an impressive enough display that MSG gave Josh Bailey a whole segment about it during the intermission. Horvat finished with a one-timer off a beautifully threaded cross-slot pass from Matthew Schaefer.
Just 1:08 into the middle frame with a 3-0 lead, it looked like it might be a cruise of a night for the Islanders. But they let the Predators back in.
A penalty and then careless moves got them in trouble. Nashville scored two goals in a 3:20 span, including one on the power play, and then nearly got an equalizer when Ryan O’Reilly had daylight on a point-blank chance but put his shot off the outside of the post.
The Islanders settled and also slowed things down a bit after that five-minute spiral, and they were able to steer the game to the second intermission without further damage.
Alas, that just delayed the inevitable. The Predators had the better of play to open the third, and even when the Islanders interrupted that with a decent forecheck that drew a penalty committed against a hard-working Victor Eklund, the Islanders power play fizzled.
Ryan O’Reilly came out of the box to create a chance and then soon finished off the garbage on a shot that Varlamov stopped but let squeak behind him, much like the Predators’ second goal, to tie it at 3-3 just 4:16 into the third.
That’s not meant as a critique of Varlamov’s play, at most a sign of rust, or just the bounces. Because overall, Varlamov was alive and making some excellent saves during sustained stretches of Nashville pressure. And that continued as the Predators tasted blood, and scared us all with their fifth power play of the night.
After that power play ended, the Predators kept the pressure up, and nearly took advantage when Casey Cizikas had to flee to the bench after losing his helmet on a desperate defensive play. But Adam Pelech blocked the shot from the slot, and Cizikas’ replacement, the reborn Ondrej Palat, earned himself an outstanding chance with a power move down the left wing that forced a great save from Jussi Saros.
The Isles did not see another great chance as they survived, really just survived, to get to overtime. O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos and Mavrick Bourque continued to torment them. Simon Holmstrom was part of one decent counterattack sequence to relieve the pressure, but otherwise it was the Islanders Pelech-blocking Nashville shots left and right. What was once a potential 3-0 cruise for the Islanders felt like a relief just to get a regulation point.
Overtime
OT was a little different. The Predators won the opening faceoff, but after the Isles won back possession, Schaefer drew a penalty. With Varlamov off for an extra attacker during the delayed penalty, the Islanders were smart and patient moving the puck around and creating looks for a 1:45 of bonus 4-on-3.
On the actual power play, the Islanders kept possession (as well they should, 4-on-3) but never really mounted an additional threat. At the end, Schaefer had to sprint back to spoil a breakaway for Filip Forsberg as he came out of the box — this after Schaefer had played the entire overtime period.
A shootout seemed the perfectly appropriate way to end this. And after it was done, his teammates mobbed Varlamov, all jumping up and down in a huddle by the Isles goal to celebrate his long road back.
Up Next
The Central tour continues and concludes Thursday in Minnesota.
