New York Islanders Highlights: Minnesota Wild Rally Late For Overtime Victory
TheNew York Islandershave been scuffling of late, as their victory Saturday against theNew Jersey Devilssnapped a four-game losing streak. They were looking to carry the positive momentum through Tuesday, but were unable to as they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Minnesota Wild, losing in overtime.
The Wild are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, as the win tonight was their 10th straight on the road and third straight overall. It wasn’t for a lack of effort from the Islanders though, as they were actually the better team on the ice for most of the night. Unfortunately for them, the Wild hadDevan Dubnykbetween the pipes for them.
The Islanders peppered Dubnyk right from the get go, attempting 16 shots compared to five for the Wild. He would stop everything that came his way until very late in the second period, whenJohn Tavaresjammed home a goal in front with only 24 seconds remaining in the period. This was Tavares first point in five games, as he is still tied for second in the NHL in points, one behind Alexander Ovechkin.
The goal was assisted on byKyle Okposoand Andres Lee. The assist was the 300th in the career of Okposo, and first since he made his return from injury. He now has points in consecutive games for the first time since mid-January.
That was the only thing that would get past Dubnyk on the evening though, as he stopped every other shot attempted on him, including every Islanders attempt in the shootout. He stonewalled Tavares, Okposo andFrans Nielsenin the shootout.
For as well as Dubnyk played,Jaroslav Halakwas right there with him throughout the night. Halak had his second consecutive strong outing, as he shutout the Devils over the weekend and tonight allowed only one goal in regulation on 32 shots. The only goal he allowed was toZach Parisewith 8:15 left in the game, his 29th of the season. It was assisted byJason PominvilleandMikko Koivu.
Halak had a couple of highlight plays on the night, one of which even appeared in SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the night as he did everything to get the Islanders a victory tonight. But Parise was able to beat him again in the shootout, as Halak initially made the save but the puck slide behind him hitting the post and being knocked in.
More from New York Islanders
- New York Islanders Force Game Six in Double OT
- New York Islanders Make History, Advance to Conference Finals
- New York Islanders Move within One Game of Eastern Conference Finals
- New York Islanders Take 2-1 Series Lead on Philadelphia
- New York Islanders Beat Capitals and are Moving On
It is a disappointing loss with how the Islanders played, as they were the stronger team on the ice. In addition to the shot differential, the Islanders also had more hits and dominated in faceoffs, winning 36 of the 57 faceoffs on the evening. But it was not a total loss on the night, as the Islanders at least pulled one more point closer to the Metropolitan Division-leadingNew York Rangers, who fell at home to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Islanders record at home now stands at 23-12-1, but things will not be getting much easier on their four-game homestand. Next up is a visit from the same Kings team that defeated the Rangers tonight that is desperate for victories as the defending Stanley Cup champions are currently on the outside looking in of the playoffs.
Next: Who was the best Islander in the year 2014?
More fromEmpire Writes Back
- Caesars New York Promo Code: Win $250 Bonus GUARANTEED on ANY Bet!
- Last Chance Caesars Promo: Claim $1,250 Bonus for ANY MLB Bet!
- Caesars New York Promo Code Gives TWO Chances to Win Betting on Your Yankees!
- PointsBet New York Promo: FIVE $100 Bonus Bets to Back the Yankees or Mets!
- Caesars NY Promo: $1,250 Bonus to Celebrate the Return of Judge!
Add us as a preferred source onGoogleLoading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations