Minnesota Wild Fall To New York Islanders 4-3 In Overtime Behind Simon Holmstrom’s 2 Goals
The Minnesota Wild are a very good hockey team. They are in third place in their division, but have the third-best record in the National Hockey League. That said, Minnesota lost in overtime Saturday night to the Islanders 4-3, as Simon Holmstrom had two goals.
With the Islanders on the road for a season-long seven-game road trip, the game in Minnesota, against a stronger opponent, was vital for the Islanders. Holmstrom came up big, and the Islanders got a surprising two points. Did you think the Islanders could win this game?
Minnesota Against Islanders Summary
Minnesota came into the game on Saturday off a 3-2 overtime victory against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. That win snapped a two-game winless streak, both against the Los Angeles Kings. The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 shootout defeat against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Holmstrom scored in that game too, and David Rittich saved 26 of Nashville’s 27 shots. Here is a scoring summary from the game.
In the first period, Minnesota took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Ben Jones. The Islanders tied the game at 1 when Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored. However, the Wild took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission as Matt Boldy scored his 27th goal of the season.
In the second period, Holmsrom scored his first goal of the game to tie the score at two. Minnesota retook the lead when Kirill Kaprizov scored his 25th goal of the season. However, the Islanders came back again to tie the game at 3 on a Casey Cizaks shorthanded goal. That goal was a big momentum swing in favor of New York.
There were no goals scored in the third period, although the Wild had the better of the play. Like they did for most of the game. In overtime, Simon Holmstrom won the game for the Islanders when he scored 1:34 in. The Islanders won 4-3.
Simon Holmstrom
Holmstrom was the key performer for the Islanders in their victory over Minnesota. He scored two goals, including the overtime winner. For the Wild, they relied on their stars, Boldy and Kaprizov, who both scored in this game.
Horvat Injury Update
Islander’s star Bo Horvat did not play against the Wild. He also did not travel with the team to Minnesota. However, he is expected to rejoin the Islanders on this road trip. The Islanders, who struggle to score goals, need Horvat to contribute.
Ilya Sorokin, who was injured, started for the Islanders. Sorokin had a virtuoso performance in his last game. He had a 44-save shutout. That set the Islanders’ franchise record for career shutouts. Sorokin is 13-10-2 with a 2.45 goals against average, a .915 save percentage, and four shutouts this season.
Quotes and Reactions From Game In Minnesota
Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy said after the game, “It was a good test for us. This is a really good hockey team. Their first line was phenomenal tonight, and [Quinn] Hughes on defense, they were really good. For the most part, they’re the ones that created a lot of offense for them, but what I’m pleased [with] is, we stayed with it. We were resilient.
“We were down [2-1], we made it 2-2. They made it 3-2, we made it 3-3 on the short-handed [goal]. That was a big kill for us. And scoring on that one at the end of the (second) period and play well enough in the third to keep them out of scoring and bring the game in OT.”
Frequently Asked Questions
The final score was 4-3. The Islanders won in overtime. The most valuable player of the game was Simon Holmstrom. The turning point of the game was the Cizkas shorthanded goal.
Parting Shots
The Islanders’ road victory over the Wild was important. It was important both because the game was the second game of a seven-game road trip for the Islanders. The Islanders next face the slumping defending Presidents’ Trophy winners in the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at 9 p.m. Minnesota next plays the Devils.
