3 Takeaways: Islanders' Comeback Bid Falls Short vs Wild

The New York Islanders' comeback bid fell short in a riveting back-and-forth game against the Minnesota Wild, who earned the 4-3 final result on Sunday night at UBS Arena.
Brock Nelson, Ross Johnston scored at even-strength, while Oliver Wahlstrom tallied a power-play goal. Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves on 21 shots in the loss and in his 25th start of the season.

The Wild, who extended their point streak to nine games (8-0-1) and picked up their fifth-straight win, received goals from Kirill Kaprizov's game winner, while Brandon Duhaime, Joel Eriksson Ek (power play), and Matt Boldy also found the back of the net. Kaapo Kahkonen made 40 saves on 43 shots in the victory.
"We stayed in the fight," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We had a forecheck, we created a lot of different things off the forecheck. A good example was Ross Johnston's [goal] through the neutral zone. I thought we did a very good job against a team, who can tear you apart through the neutral zone. Defensively, they really didn't get much. They got a couple looks. I thought we did a really good job containing their top line, they ended up getting a tip-in goal which ended up being the winning goal. But they didn't get much. We had tons of chances. We deserved a point tonight. We really did. It's not coming easy for us. They're ending up a bit easy for the opposition right now."

ISLANDERS 'STAY IN FIGHT' IN BACK-AND-FORTH SCORING MATCH

The Islanders put up a solid fight against the high-octane Wild, which average the third-most goals in the league per game at 3.79 but weren't able to tie the game up or ever take a lead. It was an inspiring effort from the Islanders, who put up a season-high 43 shots.
WILD 4, ISLANDERS 3
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KINGER'S CALLS
Nelson Buries Rebound
Johnston's Breakaway Goal
Wahlstrom's PPG
Minnesota's daggers - and the difference makers - came with fast and clutch starts in their first and second periods as well as a deflating third-period goal from Kaprizov which served as the eventual game winner when the Islanders' attempted comeback made it 4-3 late in the game.
"I thought we played a pretty good game, you play like that, and you'll probably win more than you lose," Nelson said. "Tonight, we just weren't able to, a slow start and that was the difference. A lot of positives, a lot of good things offensively, we'll try and keep that momentum and win a couple of games before the break."
In the first period of play and after a sequence of compound mistakes that put them down 2-0 in the span of 1:03 early, the Islanders had turned on the intensity and ushered a response to get within a 2-1 score heading into the first intermission.
The Wild had capitalized with a tally from Duhaime 3:36 into the game and a power-play goal from Eriksson Ek at 4:39. Following a clean zone entry and a cross-slot pass by Eriksson Ek that was kicked out by Sorokin, Duhaime crashed in the low crease and squeezed the loose puck shortside to give Minnesota the first goal of the game on the team's first shot of the game.
Kyle Palmieri, who played in his second game after returning to the lineup from injury, took a tripping penalty at 4:06. The Wild doubled its lead 2-0 as Eriksson Ek grabbed a pass from below the goal line, took his time and placed it past Sorokin at 4:39 for the team's fourth-straight game with a PPG.
The Islanders pushed the pace and were soon rewarded despite their 2-0 hole. They continued the momentum after Minnesota forward Matt Dumba's roughing penalty at 11:52 had expired. The Islanders' defense moved the puck from Adam Pelech to Robin Salo, where the Finnish blueliner launched his shot from distance. Wild goalie Kahkonen kicked out a rebound on the point shot, for Nelson - who hails from Warroad, Minn. - as he buried his team-leading 14th goal of the season. The goal also extended Nelson's point streak to three-straight games where the centerman has tallied four points (1G, 3A) during that stretch.

While both teams put up a goal each in the chippy second period, it featured a dominant showing from the Islanders who not only outshot Minnesota 14-6 but held them without a shot for 12 minutes from 2:58-14:47.
Much like the first frame of play, the Wild came out hot and scored on their first shot of the game. Boldy forechecked to regain possession, passed the puck out to the blueline and curled to the net front where he was all alone to redirect a Victor Rask shot through Sorokin's legs at 2:39.
The Wild's 3-1 lead was short lived as the Islanders responded 1:24 later with a breakaway goal from Johnston at 4:03.

WAHLSTROM PRODUCES ON THE POWER PLAY

The Islanders' third period showed some desperation - with a power-play from Wahlstrom - and stunning 18-5 shot advantage, but they couldn't get an equalizer and more disappointingly fell back into a two-goal deficit that eventually cost them the final result. Conversely, Minnesota continued its track record of locking it down with a lead when heading into the third period as they improved to 16-0-1.
Kaprizov registered his 18th goal of his sophomore season as he redirected a Matt Dumba point shot past Sorokin at 11:27.

The Islanders didn't let up despite being down 4-2. So, when Minnesota forward Mats Zuccarello took a hooking penalty at 14:48 and presented the Islanders with their fourth power play of the game, they capitalized.
On the power play, Noah Dobson launched a point shot to a crowded net front where Anders Lee jockeyed for the puck. Throughout the netfront chaos, the puck spat out to the backdoor and Wahlstrom made a diving effort to push the puck past the goal line for his ninth goal of the season and his team-leading fifth power-play goal.

JOHNSTON MAKES IMPACT IN RETURN TO LINEUP

Prior to the game, the team announced that Casey Cizkas would not play due to a non-COVID-19 related illness. In his last game on Thursday night against Los Angeles, Cizikas scored his third goal of the season as he buried one in the last minute of the Islanders' eventual 3-2 regulation loss.
"I found out about five o'clock or shortly after that Casey was sick, it's non-COVID," Trotz said. "That one caught us off guard a little bit. Casey was fine this morning, had no problems, and went through his game-day routine. Then, he showed up and felt really terbile and got worse and worse as we got closer to game-time, so we made the switch."
In his place Ross Johnston returned to the lineup and scored his first goal of the season. On his breakaway goal, the Islanders' winger snatched a mishandled puck from Duhaime in the neutral zone, charged up ice with pace and wired his shot stick-side of Kahkonen to put the Islanders within one goal.

During a second-intermission interview with the Islanders' radio broadcast Chris King and Greg Picker, Josh Bailey commented that Johnston had a hard skate this morning since he wasn't supposed to play prior to the news of Cizikas' absence. Whatever fatigue the winger may or may not have had wasn't evident as he logged 11:38 time on ice, threw two hits, had one shot and skated alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Wahlstrom.
"I felt pretty good, I thought it was a good game to stay into and stay engaged," Johnston said. "They are a physical team and play a tight system like we do, so it's a pretty easy match to get up for. I felt good and the momentum carried me through the game and my game is pretty simple, get in, make hits and sometimes opportunities present themselves, whenever I'm in I like to keep my game simple."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders continue their homestand as they host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at UBS Arena in the first leg of a back-to-back before the All-Star break. Puck drop against the Senators is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.