In top form: Roman Josi © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / ETHAN MILLER

Historic Josi shoots the Predators to victory

The Nashville Predators successfully completed their three-game road trip to close out the hockey month of January thanks to Roman Josi.

February 01, 2026

From: sn

Coach Andrew Brunette's team won 4-3 against the New York Islanders on Saturday night (local time). This victory ended the Predators' three-game winless streak at UBS Arena. The visitors had their Swiss captain, Roman Josi, to thank, as he not only scored the late game-winning goal but also celebrated a milestone, joining a very elite group.

The Bern native grabbed the puck with just under a minute and a half remaining in regulation, drove into the Islanders' defensive zone at four-on-four, patiently broke off the attack, restarted, and then capitalized on Steven Stamko's screen screen of Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin, scoring the game-winning goal late in the game for a 4-3 victory for the visitors. After two overtime losses in Boston and New Jersey, the Predators celebrated their first win on this road trip.

Predators show comeback qualities

"This is a hugely important win for us," the Swiss player said after the game. The Islanders had put his team under considerable pressure at the start and consequently took the lead. "We scored two important goals to get back into the game. After that, we found our rhythm. We played particularly well in the second period. We also created some chances in the third period. I think the last two periods suited our style of play better."


For the Swiss defenseman, his goal wasn't just any ordinary one. A few days after playing his 1000th NHL game, Josi scored his 200th NHL goal. The Bern native is now only the 25th defenseman in NHL history to reach this milestone. The last defenseman to reach this mark faster than Josi (1004 games) was Shea Weber (912) on March 8, 2019. Josi is also only the fifth defenseman born outside of North America to achieve this milestone.