Poor defense the culprit as Isles lose, 5-0

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Although leading goal-scorer Matt Moulson battled through a left knee injury to bolster a thin crop of forwards, the Islanders' decimation on defense was all too apparent last night in a 5-0 shutout loss to Nashville at Bridgestone Arena.

Without the experience of veteran blueliners Radek Martinek (left arm) and Mark Eaton (groin), the Islanders looked exposed and vulnerable on defense in their latest loss, the 20th in their last 21 games.

"We had a tough night back there, I'm not going to lie to you," coach Jack Capuano said. "We had a lot of giveaways; we didn't move the puck fast enough. That's why we spent so much of the second period in our own end."

Rookie Anders Lindmark posted his second straight shutout and Patric Hornqvist had two goals in the Predators' sixth win in the last seven games.

For the 17th time this season, the Islanders surrendered the first goal of the game as Sergei Kostitsyn scored on the power play at 11:15 of the first period.

"I don't know if it's because we're so young, but we have a tough time coming back from giving up the first goal, like all the air is out of our balloon," James Wisniewski said.

The Predators scored twice more in the second period to leave the Islanders trailing by three goals less than halfway through the game.

Shane O'Brien set up Hornqvist with a rebound after jumping over Moulson to get his point shot through at 5:22.

A little more than two minutes later, Jerred Smithson wrangled a bouncing puck - call-up defenseman Dylan Reese fanned on a clearing attempt - and banked in a goal off the pads of goaltender Dwayne Roloson at 7:31.

Hornqvist scored again in the third period, burying his own rebound for a wraparound goal at 13:55 for a 4-0 lead. With a two- man advantage, Nick Spaling scored his first NHL goal with 1:45 remaining.

The absence of Eaton and Martinek only adds to the Islanders' severely hobbled back end. Mark Streit (shoulder), Mike Mottau (eye) and Milan Jurcina (hamstring) also are out with injury.

August acquisition Wisniewski is the only defenseman who has not missed a game this season because of injury, although he too has missed time. He sat out two games in October while serving a suspension for an obscene gesture toward Rangers irritant Sean Avery.

That lack of continuity on the back end has been problematic.

"I know for me personally, I've had about six [defense] partners, so that's tough as it is," Wisniewski said. "You get used to someone and you get used to their tendencies - where they're going to be and how you're going to do things."

Although now healthy, defensive stalwarts Andrew MacDonald and Jack Hillen also have missed significant time with a broken hand and concussion, respectively.

And although defensive prospect Travis Hamonic has been impressive in his eight-game stint since being called up Nov. 23, the team's need for depth and experience on defense is painfully obvious.

"Leadership is a big part of any NHL team," said Hamonic, who played 22:04. "There were a couple key guys missing on the back end, but there are no excuses here. Young guys like myself have to come in and contribute."