NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Changes were clearly needed. The Islanders had bumbled their way through a first period in which the Predators outskated and outclassed them.
So, coach Barry Trotz altered both his forward lines and defense pairs with immediate results.
But the in-game improvements weren't nearly enough as the Islanders opened a four-game road trip with a 5-2 loss on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena.
Robin Lehner, making his second straight start, stopped 24 shots for the Islanders (2-2-0) while Juuse Saros made 20 saves for the Predators (4-1-0) after stopping 26 shots in a 4-3 win at Barclays Center on Oct. 6.
Trotz shifted left wing Andrew Ladd, scoring in his season debut after coming off injured reserve, to Mathew Barzal's top line with Josh Bailey while Anthony Beauvillier was dropped to Valtteri Filppula's third line with Cal Clutterbuck.
Defensively, Trotz separated turnover-prone Adam Pelech from Ryan Pulock and placed him with veteran Johnny Boychuk while Pulock skated with Nick Leddy.
The Islanders had already altered their lineup with Ladd's return and center Casey Cizikas being placed on IR retroactive to Monday, when he suffered a lower-body issue in a 4-0 win over the Sharks at Barclays Center.
Cizikas is eligible to be activated for the Islanders' next game, Wednesday night at Anaheim.
In the meantime, diminutive center Stephen Gionta, 35, was signed to a one-year, two-way contract after coming to training camp on a professional tryout.
"He wasn't in our plans at all this year," Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said of Gionta, who spent the previous two seasons in the Islanders' organization after 11 seasons in the Devils' organization. "He asked to come to (training) camp and certainly just stuck with it the whole time."
Trotz had initially put Gionta in Cizikas' spot on the fourth line between Matt Martin and Clutterbuck while Ladd started with Filppula and Leo Komarov.
Ladd's return is expected to have more permanence for the Islanders as he looks to rebound after slumping to 12 goals and 17 assists in 73 games last season as he battled back problems.
He missed all but the first two practices of training camp after suffering an upper-body body issue Trotz labeled as "tightness."
"Not really being able to be part of training camp, it's exciting to be back in the mix," said Ladd, 32, in the third season of a seven-year, $38.5 million deal. "The frustrating thing about being out is seeing what everyone is doing and the momentum they're building."
Whether it was the four-day layoff since their last game, the forced revamping of their lineup or just that the Predators are a strong Western Conference contender only one season removed from a Stanley Cup Final appearance, the Islanders started slowly on Saturday.
The Predators took a 3-0 lead as they outshot the Islanders, 16-4, in the first period. Calle Jarnkrok stuffed it past Lehner at 15:25 after Nick Bonino skated past Pelech. Filip Forsberg's one-timer on an odd-man rush made it 2-0 at 16:37 and Viktor Arvidsson scored his third goal this season against the Islanders with 9.2 seconds to go.
But the Islanders cut that to 3-2 in the second period after Trotz's lineup tweaks.
Brock Nelson notched his 100th career goal off the rush at 6:14 and Ladd got free in the left circle for a one-timer off Barzal's feed from behind the crease at 12:02.
However, Kyle Turris' power-play goal at 4:32 of the third period to give the Predators a 4-2 lead marked their first man-advantage goal of the season and the first power-play goal the Islanders have allowed. Forsberg added an empty-netter at 19:00.
