NY Islanders outplayed in 5-2 to loss to Minnesota Wild before seven game road trip

It just wasn’t the New York Islanders’ night. Playing their final home game before a seven game road trip, the Isles fell 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild on Friday at UBS Arena, closing their homestand at 1-1-1.

Emil Heineman and JG Pageau found the back of the net, but sloppy play, turnovers, and missed chances plagued the Isles from start to finish. Minnesota, on the second night of a back to back, looked fresher, faster, and sharper in every zone.

“Tonight we didn’t execute as a group, we didn’t compete as well as they did,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said postgame. “They were the better team.”

The Isles started strong, outshooting the Wild 10-7 early, but two quick goals flipped the script. Vinnie Hinostroza and Ben Yurov gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead by the midway mark of the first, and while Heineman briefly cut it to 2-1, Brock Faber answered just over a minute later.

“I thought we played pretty well in the first five minutes,” Bo Horvat said. “But they get that first goal and our job is to weather the storm. We didn’t do a good enough job of that.”

Pageau gave the Islanders life late in the second, finishing a slick pass from Anders Lee to make it 4-2, but the comeback stopped there. David Rittich made 21 saves in the loss, while Jesper Wallstedt turned aside 25 for Minnesota.

Roy’s message after the game was simple: reset. “There are nights where you just don’t have it,” he said. “Tonight was one of them.” The Isles won’t have long to dwell. The New York Rangers await Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.