UNIONDALE, N. Ryan Kalil Womens Jersey .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. Luke Kuechly Womens Jersey ... as usual. Even with the salary cap being set lower than many general managers expected and hoped for at $69 million and whats considered a shallow pool of top-end players available, this unrestricted-free-agent period figures to follow the familiar script of teams bidding up prices to keep up with each other. Brian Burns Jersey . PAUL, Minn.Even before he received the call, Ali Bagautinov had a feeling he would be challenging Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight championship. Since debuting in the UFC last year, the Dagestan native has made waves in the 125-pound division. After finishing Marcos Vinicius with punches in front of a hostile Brazilian crowd in September, Bagautinov earned consecutive decision victories over Tim Elliott and John Lineker. Immediately following his win over Lineker at UFC 169 four months ago, Bagautinov checked the UFCs official rankings and discovered hed broken into the top five. Since each fighter ranked above him had suffered recent losses to Johnson, Bagautinov knew he was next in line. "I dont know, but for some reason I had this feeling I would be given a chance at a title shot," Bagautinov told UFC.ca through a translator. "I watch all the fights in my (weight class). So I try to keep abreast of everything thats going on." Bagautinov gets his opportunity to dethrone Johnson in the headliner of UFC 174 in Vancouver, B.C. June 14. The co-main event features a pivotal welterweight bout between Rory MacDonald and Tyron Woodley. Also, former heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski returns against Brendan Schaub. Not only would a win over Johnson be the culmination of all his hard work in both mixed martial arts and Combat Sambo, it would earn Bagautinov the distinction of being the first Russian titleholder in UFC history. The heavy-handed striker also recently became a father, welcoming his first-born son. It goes without saying that a victory would allow him to further support his family. Bagautinov admitted a lot is riding on his fight with Johnson. "First of all, its very important to me that I will go into the history books as the first UFC champion from Russia," Bagautinov said. "It is very important to me, and without a doubt, it will help me provide better for my family. "I think that you will see more and more fighters from Russia (in the UFC). We have a lot of very successful and very promising fighters. I believe that they might be champions and titleholders in different categories, in the future." Though Bagautinov is on the cusp of making a better life for himself and his loved ones, his road to a title shot has been bumpy. A recent report from MMABoxing.ru claimed the fighter failed a 2012 drug test and was retroactively suspendded for two years by the International Sambo Federation. Greg Little Jersey. According to the article, Bagautinov was flagged for methylhexanemine, a dietary supplement and stimulant commonly found in nasal sprays that is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Bagautinov has since called the report bogus, stating that had he been suspended, he wouldnt have been allowed to compete in Sambo bouts in Russia. He also said the incident hasnt interfere with his training camp. "I never even thought about it," Bagautinov said bluntly. "It did not affect my training. I would say that I did experience some indignation as to why this nonsense suddenly came up. But it didnt damage me or hurt me in any way because I am focused on my training and my preparations." With the drug accusation behind him at least for now, Bagautinov has to get the job done against Johnson, who has proven to be a difficult puzzle to solve. Since capturing the inaugural flyweight championship in 2012, Mighty Mouse has been as impressive as any champion on the UFC roster. Johnsons toughness was on display in his first title defence in early 2013, as he rallied to win a unanimous decision over John Dodson. He then put on a dominant display against John Moraga last July before sealing the deal with a fifth-round armbar submission. In December, he became the first fighter to finish Joseph Benavidez by uncorking a vicious right hook for the stunning knockout win. Though Johnsons speed, footwork and timing have given other contenders fits, Bagautinov said hes figured out the flyweight champions style. "In my understanding, his style is to actually crock up his opponent and then to win during the fourth or fifth round," Bagautinov said. "I think hes trying to play it safe by not risking too much. Hes running around the cage and looking for the ninth corner. The cage has eight corners, so its as if hes looking for the ninth corner, then (he tries to deliver) the decisive strike, with a decisive result." Though Johnsons speed and slick striking are often considered among his best tools, Bagautinov feels his power and grappling will get the job done. "As Ive said before, God willing, if I get the title it will be the result of everything that I have been doing for all these years," Bagautinov said. "You can expect a beautiful and good quality fight." ' ' '