Gustavsson makes 39 saves, Wild defeat Islanders in shootout

ST. PAUL, Minn. --Filip Gustavsson made 39 saves and another three in the shootout, and the Minnesota Wild extended their point streak to seven games in a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday.

Gustavsson made five saves in overtime before denying Simon Holmstrom, Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri in the shootout.
Frederick Gaudreau scored the only goal in the third round for Minnesota, which is 17-7-6 in one-goal games this season.
"It's just how the games are though. Like we win with one goal, I don't know how many games this year it's only been [by] one goal," Gustavsson said. "So yeah, I've trusted the process there. We've been lucky enough to get a few more points more than we lost points, so it's great."
Ryan Reaves scored his first goal of the season for the Wild (34-21-6), who have won their past two games and are 6-0-1 during the point streak.
"Our defensive zone has been pretty locked down lately," Reaves said. "We're staying out of the box, which is good for rolling lines and keeping everybody in it. I think we're starting to get comfortable with these low-scoring games where we're just locking down the [defensive] zone and putting a couple in the net."
Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves, and Josh Bailey scored for the Islanders (31-25-8), who have points in four of five (3-1-1). They are 0-5 in the shootout this season with one goal in 14 attempts.
"Guys got to find a way to score," New York coach Lane Lambert said. "It's them and the goalie. They've got to find a way to score, that's all there is to it. That's why. We're not scoring goals in the shootout. We're not winning the shootouts. They have to find a way."

Bailey ended a 23-game drought at 14:15 of the first period when he scored on a rebound to give New York a 1-0 lead.
It was his first goal since Dec. 27.
"It felt good, obviously," Bailey said. "You just want to get in there and get it over with and get one and get on the board. So, you try treat every game like it's a new opportunity and that will be the same on Saturday (against the Detroit Red Wings)."
Reaves tied it 1-1 at 18:00, batting Jordan Greenway's rebound out of midway after Sorokin made a save on a shot from the left face-off circle.
"I wouldn't say 'silky mitts.' I would say a nice bat," Reaves said. "Silky mitts has never been used with Ryan Reaves before."

Each team had 15 shots on goal in the first.
"I think their goalie played a good game," Lambert said. "I think our goalie played a good game when he had to."
Gustavsson kept it tied at 13:12 of the third period with a save against Zach Parise, who was alone down low. He later stretched his pad out to stop a rush from Palmieri 59 seconds into overtime, followed by back-to-back saves on Parise at 1:42 and 1:44.
"We didn't have our stuff, but we still stuck together and did those little things," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "They had way too many chances. [Gustavsson] had to be really, really good in a lot of areas. But we stuck together, stuck with it, and got two points."

NOTES: Gustavsson's 39 saves were an NHL career high. … It was Reaves' first goal since April 27, 2022, while playing for the New York Rangers. … The Wild acquired forward Marcus Johansson from the Washington Capitals, and forward Gustav Nyquist from the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier Tuesday. … Horvat won 14 of 17 faceoffs (82 percent).