NY Islanders outlast Wild in OT as Simon Holmstrom delivers another statement win

For the second straight game, the New York Islanders went into a building where they rarely find success, and for the second straight game, they came away with points, but this time with two.

Simon Holmstrom played the part of heri, scoring his second goal of the night just 1:34 into overtime to lift the Islanders to a gutsy 4-3 win over the Wild. It was the kind of game the Isles have learned how to win lately, a game earned inch by inch, against a team that looked faster and quicker.

Minnesota struck first and kept pressing. Ben Jones opened the scoring early in the first period with his first NHL goal, and the Wild carried the emotional edge of playing their first home game since before Christmas. Every time the Islanders found their footing, Minnesota pushed back, taking a one-goal lead three separate times through the first two periods.

And every time, the Islanders answered.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas each scored with Cizikas’ short-handed goal late in the second period being the play of the game before Holmstrom's game-winner as he finished a hard-earned 2-on-1, finishing by slipping the puck through Filip Gustavsson’s pads to knot the game at 3-3 on a feed from Holmstrom.

The third period belonged entirely to Ilya Sorokin. Minnesota threw everything they had at him, firing 17 shots in a frantic, scoreless frame. Sorokin was calm, square, and unshakeable, giving the Islanders exactly what they needed to survive and get to overtime.

Then, in overtime, Holmstrom had his moment. Circling into the slot, he pulled the puck to his backhand and snapped it past Gustavsson before Minnesota could reset. Game over.

The Islanders improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games, and this one felt significant. Not because it was flashy — it wasn’t — but because it showed how comfortable this team has become winning tight games against good opponents in tough buildings.

“We were resilient,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “Expected goals against, probably not going to be good for us, but I like the way we played in the circumstance.”

The Isles continue their road trip Tuesday night in Winnipeg.