Game Preview: Islanders at Wild

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (25-22-7) AT MINNESOTA WILD (32-19-4)

8 PM ET | XCEL ENERGY CENTER

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The New York Islanders take on the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday night in the final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

The Islanders fought hard, but fell 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night in the first half of a back-to-back set. Simon Holmstrom, Marc Gatcomb and Kyle Palmieri scored in the loss and Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves. The Islanders recorded a season-high 19 shots on goal in the final frame in a furious effort to come back and tie the game, but fell short.

“It was a good effort by our guys, I thought it was a hard-fought game,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “We had our chances at the end, and [Connor Hellebuyck] made a nice save on Casey [Cizikas], but sometimes it’s a game of inches.”

The Islanders (57 points) remain four points back of the Detroit Red Wings (61 points) for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Isles are turning their attention to Saturday’s opponent to head into the break on a strong note.

“It’s a big one here before the break, and we need all the points we can get,” Bo Horvat said after Friday’s loss.

The Wild snapped a two-game losing skid with a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Yakov Trenin and Vinnie Hinostroza scored for Minnesota, while Filip Gustavsson made 37 saves in the win.

SEASON SERIES

The Isles went 0-2-0 against Minnesota last season. The Wild are one of two teams the Isles have not faced yet this season (the other team is the Nashville Predators).

MORNING UPDATES

- Ilya Sorokin is the expected starter for the Islanders. Sorokin previously started both halves of a back-to-back set on Dec. 7 and 8, beating both Carolina and Ottawa. Sorokin is 20-15-4 with a 2.63 GAA, a .909 SV% and three shutouts.

- Filip Gustavsson is expected to start for Minnesota. The netminder is 21-11-3 this season, along with a .915 SV% and a 2.61 GAA.

ISLES NOTES

- Simon Holmstrom recorded his 30^th point of the season – the first 30-point campaign of his career - with the opening goal against the Jets. With 14 goals on the season, Holmstrom is one shy of tying his career-high (15) set through 75 games of the 2023-24 season.

- Marc Gatcomb scored his third NHL goal in his 11^th NHL game on Friday night against Winnipeg. The 25-year-old has three goals in his last five outings.

Like Gatcomb, Kyle Palmieri also has three goals in his last five games. The winger has 15 goals on the season.

- The Islanders’ PK went a perfect 2-for-2 on Friday against the league’s best power play, as Winnipeg had a power play units were converting at 33.8% coming into the contest. The Islanders’ PK is 28-for-31 (90.3%) since Jan. 1, which ranks first in the NHL over that span.

- The Islanders are 3-4-0 in the second half of back-to-back sets this season.

- The Islanders are 12-11-5 on the road this season.

WILD NOTES

- The Wild sit in third in the Central Division with 68 points and a record of 32-19-4.

The Islanders will not face Kirill Kaprizov (lower-body, LTIR) on Sunday, as the Russian forward had surgery on Feb. 1 and was given a timeline of four weeks to return, per Head Coach John Hynes. Kaprizov missed 12 games after he sustained the injury on Dec. 23, where he was tied for second in goals (23) in the NHL at the time. The Russian winger returned on Jan. 23, playing three games before leaving the team again. Despite his absences Kaprizov is still the team leader in scoring (52).

- Despite Kaprizov's injury, Minnesota is getting healthier with the return of two key veterans in Jonas Brodin and Marcus Johansson. Brodin has played two games since an injury kept him out of the lineup for 12 games. The defenseman has 17 points (4G, 13A) and 69 blocked shots through 33 games of his 13th season with Minnesota.

Johansson also made his return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Bruins. He missed eight games with an upper-body injury. The veteran center has 16 points (5G, 11A) through 46 games of his second full season with the Wild.

- Vinnie Hinostroza scored his first goal in a Wild jersey on Thursday after he was claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.

- Twenty-three-year-old Marco Rossi is having an impressive second full season with the Wild, establishing a career-high 46 points (18G, 28A) through 55 games, which surpasses last season's total of 40 points (21G, 19A) through 82 games.

- Minnesota is 12-12-1 on home ice this season.

- Filip Gustavsson is expected to start in goal for the Wild. Gustavsson is 21-11-3 with a 2.61 GAA, a .915 SV% and three shutouts. Gustavsson is 2-1-0 lifetime against the Isles with a 2.29 GAA and a .920 SV%.