Game Preview: Islanders at Wild

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (6-4-2) AT MINNESOTA WILD (9-3-2) 

8 P.M. | GRAND CASINO ARENA  

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN, MSG+ ON DAZN  

HOW TO LISTEN: 88.7 FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | 92.5FM THE BEACON | ISLES + UBS ARENA APP 

The New York Islanders finish their stretch of three straight Central Division opponents on Thursday with a matchup against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena at 8 p.m.  

The Isles are coming off a thrilling 4-3 shootout win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and have registered at least one point in six of the last seven games (4-1-2).   

Read the full game takeaways here 

It was a record night for multiple Isles as goaltender Semyon Varlamov earned his first win since Nov. 14, 2024. Matthew Schaefer played all five minutes in overtime, which is the first recorded time since the NHL started tracking time-on-ice data in 2009-10.

Schaefer extended his point streak to five games and recorded the longest shift by an Islanders skater since TOI became officially tracked. Schaefer’s 32:16 TOI was also a career-high. 

Brayden Schenn scored his 300th career goal, Bo Horvat scored in regulation and the shootout and the Islanders picked up their first win in Nashville since Oct. 28, 2017.  

The Wild currently have the second most points of any team in the NHL and lead the Central Division.  

The Wild just concluded a five-game road trip capped off by three straight wins and are an unblemished 4-0-0 at home. 

The Wild are headlined by Kirill Kaprizov who has held his end of the bargain on the eight-year, $136 million contract extension he signed in September of 2025. Kaprizov leads the NHL with 14 goals in 14 games, a league-best 10 of them coming 5-on-5 and is third overall in points (23).

PROJECTED LINEUP

The Islanders utilized 11 forwards and all seven defensemen in the win against Nashville. The team held an off day on Wednesday so stay tuned for updates following Thursday’s morning skate in St. Paul.  

Here’s how the Islanders lined up against the Predators. 

Simon Holmström – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri  
Emil Heineman – Brayden Schenn – Victor Eklund
Ondřej Palát – JG Pageau – Anthony Duclair  
                          Casey Cizikas – Mitchell Chaffee 

Logan Stanley – Matthew Schaefer 
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock  
Matthew Kessel – Tony DeAngelo  
Scott Mayfield

POINTING UP

The Islanders have several players who have pieced together strong stretches including Schaefer, who has two goals and three assists as part of his five-game point streak.  

Schaefer has at least one point in eight of his last nine games and has 11 total points (2G, 9A) on the season which is tied for ninth most in the NHL by a defenseman.  

Schenn has a four-game point streak with a goal in back-to-back games and Anthony Duclair has a point in four of his last five contests with two goals – including one against Nashville – and two assists in that span.

Horvat has six points (2G, 4A) over the last five games and played a season-high 26:04 against Nashville.

SCOUTING THE WILD

The Wild and Islanders are two exceptional defensive teams and match each other with 31 goals against which is tied for third in the NHL. The Wild are third in the NHL with a 2.21 goals-against per game while the Isles are fifth in the league at 2.58.

Minnesota remains without 2026 Olympic Gold medalist defenseman Brock Faber who’s sidelined with a skull fracture after taking a puck to the head during a preseason game.  

Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes is fourth in the NHL with 15 assists and leads all defensemen in points (18).  

Goaltender Jesper Wallstedt has played 12 of Minnesota’s 14 games to an 8-2-2 record as Filip Gustavsson is recovering from offseason hip surgery. Wallstedt is top five in the NHL in both save percentage (.922) and goals-against average (1.99) among goaltenders with seven games started.