SLAPSHOT Game Preview: New York Islanders at Minnesota Wild

SLAPSHOT Preview is designed to give three quick-hitting things to look for in the next Isles game in three minutes or less.

SHOT #1: Maxim Shabanov

Back in the summer of 2025, the New York Islanders won a lottery. In a sense. Not the magnitude of the lottery that resulted in Matthew Schaefer becoming an Islander, but a lottery of a different kind.

Coming out of Russia, Maxim Shabanov had no shortage of suitors in the NHL. The Isles inked the winger to a one-year contract.

Through a combination of declining ice time, the addition of more forwards, and perhaps some disagreement in outlook, Shabanov is no longer a member of the Islanders. The latter concept comes from Ilya Sorokin, who said, per The Hockley News, regarding Shabanov: “He needed a little more positivity and patience. He shouldn't show any dissatisfaction, but simply work and wait for his chance."

Now finding himself a member of the Minnesota Wild, Shabanov will have the opportunity to play his former team this evening.

Shabanov is off to a strong start for the Wild, amassing nine points in the form of four goals and five assists.

He’ll also undoubtedly come into the game with a little extra motivation.

SHOT #2: Matthew Schaefer

It seems almost unfair to include Matthew Schaefer in a preview for a game because it’s something that can be done before almost any game.

After his performance in overtime two nights ago, in which he became the first player ever to play the entire five minutes of an overtime period, he warrants a spot in the SLAPSHOT Preview.

Simply put, what’s next? How does the second-year defenseman follow up on that performance? It’s not that he needs to follow up with something especially impressive; it’s simply that the hockey world wants him to.

Schaefer is second on the Isles in points with eleven. This has come in the form of two goals and nine assists.

After his recent overtime performance, it should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Schaefer leads the Islanders in total ice time. He’s logging over twenty-six minutes a game, roughly five minutes more than Horvat, who is second on the team at just over 21 minutes.

All eyes are on Schaefer simply because it’s hard not to follow the Hamilton, Ontario, native’s every move.

SHOT #3: Taming the Wild

The Wild come into the game leading a strong Central Division by four points. They’re winners of their last three, with road victories coming over the Kraken, Canucks, and Mammoth.

How to tame the Wild comes down to a number of things. But in the interest of keeping with the quick-hitting SLAPSHOT theme, it comes down to Kirill Kaprizov.

The Russian-born winger leads the Wild in points and goals. His twenty-three points are good for third in the NHL, while his fourteen goals put him atop the NHL in the category. In the Wild’s current three-game winning streak, Kaprizov has amassed two points in each contest, with a goal and an assist in each game.

Other than a hang-on-for-dear-life strategy when it comes to Kaprizov, the Isles will look to make him work for each shot. This will be especially true on the power play, as the Wild sit sixth in the NHL in power-play percentage.

Interestingly, the Isles will match the Wild’s sixth-rated power play with a sixth-rated penalty-kill percentage.

Kaprizov will get his shots in tonight’s game, and the Isles would do well to make him earn every one of them.

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