Game Preview: NY Islanders vs Minnesota Wild

The NY Islanders play game two of their current five game home stand as the Minnesota Wild come into UBS Arena. 

Last Game

After a Western Canada road trip that saw the New York Islanders really struggle, finishing the road trip 1-3-0, the Isles returned home to host the first place Dallas Stars. The two teams traded goals in the first period as Jason Robertson and Anders Lee each got one. From there, it was the goalies, Ilya Sorokin and Jake Oettinger, who stole the show. Not another goal was scored until we reached the shootout and it was once again Roberston putting the puck past Sorokin. The Stars went on to win the shootout 1-0 and the game 2-1. 

Ironically enough, the Minnesota Wild were also victims of a shootout loss on Tuesday night in New York. There’s took place at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. The Wild jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but gave both goals right back in the second. In the third, Former Ranger Mats Zuccarello gave Minnesota the lead but New York would come back to tie it once again as Filip Chytil would get his 12th goal of the year with under seven minutes to go. Marc-Andre Fleury struggled in the shootout, allowing both Kaapo Kakko and Artemi Panarin to score. The Rangers won the shootout 2-1 and the game 4-3. 

Historical Matchup 

Last season these two teams met twice, as they do every year. It was the Wild who controlled both games beating the Islanders 5-2 and 4-3. All-time, the Islanders have a 13-14-0-2 record against the Minnesota Wild. 

Players to Watch

In the two meetings against the Wild a season ago, Islanders captain Anders Lee notched two goals and an assist. In his career, Lee has 12 points in 14 games against Minnesota. With the matchup in his favor, this is an opportunity for Anders to grab goals in consecutive games to start the home stand, after what was a really quiet road trip, scoring just one goal in four games. 

Kirill Kaprizov is one of the most electrifying players in the National Hockey League. His speed, vision, and pin point shot ability are all reasons why he leads the Wild in points this season and is a problem for opponents every time he steps on the ice. Last year when these two met at UBS Arena on January 30th, Kaprizov notched a goal and an assist in his team’s win. He will be a joy to watch tonight if you’re a fan of the game, but the Islanders defense will have their hands full. 

Projected Lines

Islanders

Anders Lee-Mathew Barzal-Simon Holmstrom
Anthony Beauvillier-Brock Nelson-Josh Bailey
Zach Parise-JG Pageau-Hudson Fasching
Matt Martin- Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck

Alexander Romanov-Noah Dobson
Sebastian Aho-Scott Mayfield
Parker Wotherspoon- Ryan Pulock

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlmov

Wild

Kirill Kaprizov-Sam Steel-Mats Zuccarello
Matthew Boldy-Freddy Gaudreau-Ryan Hartman
Marcus Foligno-Joe Eriksson Ek-Jordan Greenway
Brandon Duhaime-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves

Jacob Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodie-Mathew Dumba
Jon Merrill-Calen Addison

Marc-Andre Fleury
Filip Gustavsson

*Lineups via DailyFaceoff