The New York Islanders and Minnesota Wild are both coming off close games as they prepare for their match on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
This will be the last game for both teams before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which will take place from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.
The Wild ended a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 home win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, while the Islanders lost 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night but have won eight of their last 10 games (8-2-0).
The Islanders were up 2-1 after the first period on Friday, with goals from Simon Holmstrom and Marc Gatcomb. However, the Jets came back with three goals in the second period.
Kyle Palmieri scored for the Islanders in the third period. Ilya Sorokin, who lost for the first time since Jan. 16, made 23 saves.
“We did a lot of good things tonight,” New York center Bo Horvat said after the loss. “I thought we fought back. But at the end of the day, we couldn’t get the job done tonight. I thought in the first we were good. We let our foot off the gas for a minute in the second. We knew they would come, and they did. We fought back in the third period to make it a close game.”
Islanders coach Patrick Roy agreed with Horvat.
“We played really well in the first and third periods. Played very well, took a lead,” Roy said. “I think in the second period, we lost coverage, and that cost us two of the three goals.”
Minnesota Wild (NHL)Meanwhile, on Thursday, Filip Gustavsson made 37 saves for Minnesota.
“Whether it’s lifting sticks, shot blocking and not allowing second efforts,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I thought we also did a good job. If the puck was in those areas or below the goal line, we had five players tight. And then when they did get some looks, because they’re going to, I thought ‘Gus’ (Gustavsson) really competed tonight in scrums and battles, and it was going to be one where your goaltender has to compete in traffic tonight, and he did a nice job.”
Yakov Trenin and Vinnie Hinostroza scored for the Wild. Hinostroza played his first game for Minnesota after being claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.
“Yeah, (I) felt really good,” Hinostroza said after the game. “Obviously, a lot of emotions. Entering a new locker room sometimes can be hard to do, but this group couldn’t have made it easier for me today. So I’m just happy to be a part of this. Got in late last night, so I’ll go back and get some sleep tonight, and then back at it tomorrow. So it’ll be nice to see a little bit of down time.”
Minnesota forward Ryan Hartman will serve the third game of his 10-game suspension for using his forearm to slam the head of Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle to the ice last Saturday.
Hartman has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 48 games. The NHL Players Association has filed an appeal on Hartman’s behalf.
