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. 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The third-ranked Lewis, a three-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour, had a 9-under 135 total at Emirates Golf Course in the Ladies European Tours season-ending tournament. Air Max 97 Ultra 17 Red . JOHNS, N.Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jimmy Butler made four key free throws down the stretch to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Boston Celtics, 109-102, on Friday. Butler ended with 22 points for the Bulls, who improved to 3-3 on their seven- game road trip. Derrick Rose, who exited Tuesdays game against Denver with a hamstring injury, had 21 points. When he plays like that, its huge for our team, Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said of Rose. When you look at his plus-minus when hes on the floor for our team this year, its off the charts. When hes on the floor it makes a big difference for our team. I think we all know that. Joakim Noah tallied 15 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six blocks in his return to the lineup. He missed Tuesdays game due to eye and knee issues. Jared Sullinger ended with 23 points and 10 boards for the Celtics, who have lost three in a row. Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass added 18 and 16 points, respectively, with Bass also pulling down nine rebounds. The Bulls started the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 96-93 lead, and it remained close the rest of the way. Sullingers three-point play and Jeff Greens layup gave BBoston a 102-100 edge with 2:29 to play.dddddddddddd The key call in the game came one minute later when Sullinger was called for an offensive charge. Butler made two free throws at the other end to tie things up. After having his shot blocked by Noah, Rajon Rondo was fouled by Rose. Rondo missed the ensuing free throws and Sullinger was off the mark from 3-point range. Butler made two more free throws at the opposite end to give Chicago a 104-102 lead with 50.4 seconds remaining. Its very frustrating, in particular this game. If I make my free throws I think we win the game, Rondo said. Noah blocked Evan Turners layup, then made a jumper to seal the victory. Boston led 35-24 after 12 minutes of action and took a 60-54 edge into the locker room. Each team scored 31 points in the third quarter that ended with the Celtics holding a 91-85 margin. Game Notes Boston guard Marcus Smart missed his eighth straight game with an ankle injury ... Aaron Brooks had 15 points for Chicago ... The Bulls play at Brooklyn on Sunday, while the Celtics welcome San Antonio to town on Sunday. ' ' '