As if like clockwork for the Islanders, the shots against piled higher and higher Monday night, reaching 37 through the first two periods at Barclays Center.
They did lead where it mattered through those 40 minutes, though, thanks again in part to battered goalie Jaroslav Halak, and carried a one-goal lead to the final period.
And then suddenly, through the first 14 minutes of the third period, the Islanders had limited the Predators to just one shot.
It made what came next a frustrating and painful punch to the gut.
The Islanders lost their lead with 42.2 seconds left in the third period, then, after having their share of potential game-winners denied in overtime, let Roman Josi win it for the Predators 5-4 with 1:18 left in the extra period.
“Going into the third period, we talked in here about how important this game was and what we had to do to be successful,” forward Casey Cizikas said. “We did that for 19 minutes and 18 seconds. This one hurts.”
With one point salvaged, the Islanders (26-22-6) still finished the night back in the playoff picture as the second wild card with 58 points and 28 games to go. But what could have been a momentous win against the Predators (32-12-7) slipped through their fingers.
Pulling their goalie with less than two minutes left in the third period for a man-advantage, the Predators finally found the equalizer when Ryan Johansen tucked home a loose puck — their third goal of the night off a rebound.
“You got a lead going into the final minute of the period, you need to wrap that up,” winger Andrew Ladd said.
Earlier in the period, Pekka Rinne (24 saves) had robbed Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle of grade-A chances to extend what was a 4-3 lead at the time. The All-Star goalie did it again in overtime, time after time.
Halak (42 saves) nearly matched him on every counterattack until Josi delivered the dagger.
“I think both teams could have won it four times in overtime, so it’s just a crapshoot,” coach Doug Weight said.
Weight was more frustrated by his team’s play in the first two periods. His offense was thriving, with goals from John Tavares, Ryan Pulock, Cizikas and Nick Leddy, but the Islanders couldn’t match that intensity defensively.
“We didn’t deserve [the win] from our first two [periods],” Weight said. “We had the lead, but [we were] turning pucks over. They have to look at themselves. Thirty-seven shots after two periods, how many were from the blue line that hit Jaro right in the stomach? To me, physically, that means you’re not in the shot lane. … We’re talking a big game about being aggressive and blocked shots, but we’re not doing them.”
Ironically, one of the times the Islanders did get in a shooting lane it cost them. Defenseman Scott Mayfield blocked a P.K. Subban slap shot early in the first period and hobbled off. He missed the rest of the game with a lower-body injury as the Islanders played with five defensemen. Weight did not have an update on Mayfield’s status after the game.
Despite the aggravating result, Cizikas saw the third period as something the Islanders could build on heading forward.
“We didn’t turn pucks over,” Cizikas said. “We got pucks in deep, we did a lot of good things. That’s the frustrating part. We have to learn how to win these games and today’s a good learning step. It’s not easy leaving here with only one point, but I think we found out a lot about ourselves and what we have to do to be successful and just how hard it is.”
Tanner Fritz was scratched with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. … Weight was hopeful veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuk (lower body) might return by the end of the week, but did not have a definite answer.