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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Kevin Poulins sigh of relief and wide smile summarized the game for the New York Islanders after they stymied the Nashville Predators to end a four-game skid. Poulin made 32 saves to back the scoring of John Tavares, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kyle Okposo as the Islanders stopped the Predators 3-1 Tuesday night after their disappointing trip. The 23-year-old Poulin, who has played well in a backup role to starter Evgeni Nabokov, was sharp throughout as the Islanders improved to 7-9-3. "I felt really good from the beginning," said Poulin, who won for the second time in six games this season. "I was seeing the pucks well all night and was glad to see us play a strong game as a team." Predators right wing Patric Hornqvist ruined Poulins shutout bid with his fifth goal of the season with 5:30 remaining. Nashville (8-8-2) was playing the sixth game of a seven-stop road trip. The Predators lost 5-0 at both Winnipeg and New Jersey before visiting the Islanders. They conclude their journey at Pittsburgh on Friday. "We were slow to the puck all night and they did a better job winning the 1-on-1 battles," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "Were going through a tough time. We have to tighten up and put together better efforts." Tavares opened the scoring with 4:30 left in the first period with a power-play goal, his eighth of the season. Tavares was alone in the slot when he took a pass from Frans Nielsen from along the left boards as Nashvilles David Legwand served an elbowing penalty. Tavares settled the puck before firing it past Predators goaltender Marek Mazanec, who was making his first NHL start. The 22-year-old Czech netminder was recalled from Milwaukee of the AHL last week to back up Carter Hutton, already the backup to starter Pekka Rinne who is out with a lingering hip infection. Bouchard scored his fourth of the season with 2:37 remaining in the first, also with an assist from Nielsen. Okposo increased the lead to 3-0 at 7:07 of the second, rifling a slap shot from the left circle past Mazanec for his sixth of the year. The Islanders collectively lifted their game as they were missing high-scoring left wing Thomas Vanek for the second straight contest. New York acquired Vanek on Oct. 27 from Buffalo for popular winger Matt Moulson. Vanek suffered an upper body injury early in last Saturdays loss at Columbus. "I like that we got our speed going and put together a solid team effort tonight," said Tavares, who assisted on Okposos goal and leads the Islanders with 22 points. "It was important that we came home and played a strong game like this. Hopefully we can build on it." New York beat Boston 3-1 in their previous home game on Nov. 2 -- when Vanek scored his first goal with the Islanders -- then lost at Washington, Carolina, Columbus and Montreal. The Islanders have had little success against the Predators through the years. The victory was New Yorks first against Nashville in regulation since April 2002 and their first win at Nassau Coliseum over the Predators since a 2-1 triumph way back on Nov. 7, 2000. Nashville had been 8-0-2 in their last 10 meetings with the Islanders, including a 3-2 home win on Oct. 12. "We played a solid game start to finish," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We were disciplined and our goaltender played very well. This was a total team effort." The Islanders host Los Angeles on Thursday before welcoming the Detroit Red Wings to Long Island on Saturday to complete the homestand. NOTES: The Islanders continued to be without D Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) and D Brian Strait (upper body). ... The Islanders are 7-1-2 when they score at least three goals. ... Nashville scratched C Mike Fisher (lower body) plus LW Gabriel Bourque and D Mattias Ekholm. Jake Noll Nationals Jersey . 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HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks.BUFFALO, N.Y. - Carolina Hurricanes centre Jordan Staal broke his lower right leg in a preseason game at Buffalo on Tuesday night, general manager Ron Francis said.Staal is scheduled to return to Raleigh, North Carolina, with the team Wednesday after its preseason game against the New York Islanders, and will be evaluated by team doctors the next day.Francis said he didnt have a timetable for Staals recovery.Staal had initial tests taken immediately following the 2-0 loss. Francis issued a statement with the diagnosis roughly two hours after the game.Im concerned for sure. Hes a big piece of what were going to do moving forward, new coach Bill Peters said before learning of the severity of the injury.Staal was hurt on what appeared to be an innocent play with 6:35 left in the third period. He was skating up the right boards inside the Sabres zone when he was checked into the boards by defenceman Josh Gorges. Staal immediately fell to the ice and lay on his side for a few seconds before play was stopped.A trainer attended to Staal, who eventually needed help to get up. He was unnable to put any weight on his leg while being escorted off the ice.ddddddddddddAbout 20 minutes after the game, Staal was on crutches with his right leg elevated as he made his way to the locker room.Staal is a solid two-way player who is entering his third season in Carolina. He is a four-time 20-goal scorer, and finished fifth among Hurricanes last season with 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists).Peters was already being cautious with Staals older brother and team captain, Eric, who had surgery in July to repair a core muscle injury.Eric Staal has been practicing with the team in training camp. Peters said he expects Staal to make his preseason debut next Tuesday when the Hurricanes host St. Louis.Buffalo defenceman Mark Pysyk will be out indefinitely after sustaining what the team called an upper-body injury in the first period. Sabres coach Ted Nolan declined to specify the nature of the injury or provide a timetable except to say that Pysyk will be out for a little while.___AP Sports Writer Joedy McCreary in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report. ' ' '