New York Islanders vs. Minnesota Wild: Isles Look to Continue Strong Play

The New York Islanders are in Minnesota tonight to face the Wild.

New York Islanders fans will have to wait a little longer to watch 2013 first round pick, Ryan Pulock, as despite being called up on Monday, he is not in the lineup tonight.

The Islanders will face off against the Minnesota Wild for the second time in the month, but it won’t be the same team they saw on February second. Their last matchup was a part of a 14-game stretch in which the Wild only won one game. Deservedly or not (much of their troubles were percentage driven), their coach, Mike Yeo, was fired as a result.

The team has been on a four-game winning streak since then, outscoring their opponents by 13 goals.

The Islanders have also had more success of late, going 9-4-2 with a 54.7 percent score-adjusted Corsi in their last 15 games. Unfortunately, they may lose a little momentum as the team left Mikhail Grabovski and Calvin De Haan in Long Island.

De Haan’s abscense isn’t much of a surprise, but Grabovski’s injury is apparently a recent development. Subbing in for Grabovski is Steve Bernier and remaining in the lineup on D are both Marek Zidlicky and Brian Strait.

Most fans, ourselves included, were hoping to get a first glimpse at Pulock tonight, but Jack Capuano stated that because he played back-to-back games with Bridgeport on the weekend, he will sit this game out:

In net, Jaroslav Halak will start again after shutting out the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night.

The Islanders have built themselves somewhat of a cushion in the standings, having put themselves four points up on the ninth place Devils with three games in hand. However, currently, their most likely playoff matchup is the New York Rangers. Not only does everyone want to see an all New York matchup, but they are a much preferable team to than play their next three most likely teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals or Florida Panthers.

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If the Islanders want to avoid dropping to a matchup against one of those teams, they’ll have to continue their strong play, starting with tonight’s game against the Wild.