Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Seven straight trips to Nashville. Seven straight without a win.
Some of those losses were forgettable. Others were the kind that stay with you: a go-ahead goal with seconds left, a lead that evaporated, a point that slipped away at the very end. Bridgestone Arena has been one of the cruelest buildings in the league for this franchise since October 2017.
So you almost knew it would take something unconventional to end it.
Nobody could have scripted this, though.
The Islanders built a 3-0 lead behind goals from Anthony Duclair, Brayden Schenn’s 300th, and Bo Horvat. The streak looked finished, but we knew better.
Then Nashville did what Nashville does to the Isles. Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg on the power play, and Alexander Kerfoot erased all three goals and sent the game into a chaotic third period that felt like it could go either way on every shift.
The Isles survived it. Then came overtime, and a golden power-play chance to end it. They didn’t capitalize. Matthew Schaefer played all five minutes of the extra session. The power play finished 0-for-5.
So naturally, it came down to a shootout.
