Fedor Svechkov scored 1:56 into overtime to give the Nashville Predators a wild 7-6 comeback win over the visiting New York Islanders on Tuesday.
The Predators came back to equalize four times in the game, capped by scoring a pair of late goals to force overtime. Svechkov then ended things with a well-placed wrist shot from the slot for the rookie’s first career OT winner.
The result ended Nashville’s six-game losing streak. The Predators (28-42-8, 64 points) had scored only 10 goals during the skid, making their Tuesday offensive breakout all the more unlikely.
Steven Stamkos had two goals and two assists for Nashville. Brady Skjei and Jonathan Marchessault each had three assists, and Filip Forsberg and Michael Bunting each had a goal and an assist.
Michael McCarron and Ryan O’Reilly scored the Predators’ other goals, and goaltender Justus Annunen stopped 16 of 22 shots.
The overtime loss dealt a major blow to New York’s faint playoff chances. With five games remaining on their schedule, the Islanders (34-32-11, 79 points) are eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference wild-card slot.
New York’s starting goalie, Ilya Sorokin, allowed four goals on 23 shots and didn’t return after the second intermission due to a possible injury. Marcus Hogberg stopped six of the nine shots he faced in a relief effort.
Simon Holmstrom registered two goals and two assists for the Islanders, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had three assists. Maxim Tsyplakov had a goal and an assist, and Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, and Scott Mayfield each had one goal.
Each team had two goals in each of the three regulation periods, with New York starting the scoring in each frame. The Islanders never held more than a one-goal lead until Palmieri scored 15:21 into the third period and Mayfield added a short-handed marker less than a minute later, seemingly putting New York in control.
However, the Predators saved their biggest comeback for last, as Stamkos scored a power-play goal within 2:07 left in regulation before Bunting tied the game 6-6 off a Stamkos assist with 40 seconds to go.
