Tavares shootout goal wins it for Islanders

Precariously straddling the line between a playoff berth and the first-round draft pick lottery, the Islanders managed to snap a seven-game losing streak with a gutty 4-3 shootout win over Nashville last night at Nassau Coliseum.

For all that has gone awry during the team's recent skid, the Islanders showed resilience in coming from behind, taking an important step in trying to climb back into the postseason playoff picture.

Defenseman Mark Streit scored a power-play goal with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, slumping rookie John Tavares scored the deciding shootout goal in the fourth round and goaltender Martin Biron finally found that elusive third win after more than a month without playing for the Islanders.

"It's nice to finally have that fairy tale ending," said Tavares, who lifted the puck over Pekka Rinne's right pad to give the Islanders a 2-1 edge in the shootout.

Frans Nielsen and Tavares scored in the shootout, and though Martin Erat faked out Biron to score into an empty net in the third round, Biron sprawled to stop Patric Hornqvist in the fourth to give the Islanders their first win since Jan. 21 against Florida, their first points in a tortuously long time.

"It felt good," Biron said. "It's been awhile."

The game was designed to showcase Biron to potential suitors. The 32-year-old netminder made 24 stops in his first action since Dec. 27 against Philadelphia.

After the game, Biron, who recently went down to Bridgeport for a two-game tuneup, talked about the difficulty of his position this season.

Since Rick DiPietro's return, Biron has been relegated to the third goaltender position behind Dwayne Roloson as the Islanders have worked to trade him.

"It's been a tough situation," Biron said. "With the [trade] freeze coming up and the trade deadline, I knew the situation coming in. I knew most likely I'd be a chip for [GM] Garth [Snow] to be able to acquire something and give me the chance to continue my season and turn things around."

All three Islanders goals came from defensemen. Before Streit's equalizer at 19:48, Freddy Meyer and Bruno Gervais scored in the second period.

After a scoreless first period, the two teams notched a pair of goals in the second.

Registering the first eight shots of the second, the Islanders took a 1-0 lead on Meyer's second goal of the season, a slap shot that beat Rinne five-hole at 5:10.

Cal O' Reilly scored the equalizer for the Predators minutes later, picking off Nielsen's clearing attempt and sneaking the puck past Biron's left pad at 10:35. Nashville's Joel Ward then tallied the go-ahead goal on a breakaway at 13:51.

Gervais gave the team a spark with less than a minute remaining in the period by scoring the Islanders' first power-play goal in six games at 19:03.

The Predators answered back with a power-play goal at 4:12 of the third on Steve Sullivan's one-timer from the left circle that gave Nashville a 3-2 lead.

With Erat taking a boarding penalty at 19:14, the Islanders pulled Biron and were skating six-on-four when Streit rifled the tying goal.

"It feels like you just scored the overtime game-winner in the playoffs. Everyone is jumping," Biron said.

Notes & quotes: Doug Weight was a healthy scratch, along with Jeff Tambellini. Coach Scott Gordon said he wanted to rest his captain in preparation for back-to-back games. Weight, who has battled through a shoulder injury virtually all season, will play Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.