After dropping a heartbreaker to the Nashville Predators on Saturday, the New York Islanders (19-13-10) face the Minnesota Wild (17-20-5) in a Martin Luther King Day affair.
After dropping a heartbreaker to the Nashville Predators on Saturday, the New York Islanders (19-13-10) face the Minnesota Wild (17-20-5) in a Martin Luther King Day affair.
Puck drop from Xcel Energy Center is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
In the Music City, the Islanders and Predators faced a 52-minute stalemate to open the game. With eight minutes remaining in the third period, Jean-Gabriel Pageau tipped a Noah Dobson shot past Juuse Saros to break the ice. However, the lead lasted over three minutes, as a Kyle Palmieri penalty led to Luke Evangelista tying the game on the man advantage.
With overtime seemingly on the horizon, Matt Martin made a turnover in his own end, giving Alex Carrier a final shot that deflected off Scott Mayfield’s stick and past Ilya Sorokin with seven seconds left in regulation. Juuso Parssinen hit an empty net right before the horn, finishing a 3-1 Predators win.
While Monday’s game is a pivotal matchup in their four-game road trip, the Islanders also face being on the wrong side of history. Minnesota’s starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury can move into sole possession of second all-time in wins with 552, continuing a historic run for the future hall-of-fame netminder.
Morning Skate Updates
Neither team held a morning skate.
Sorokin will likely make his 30th start and 31st appearance on the season (13-9-8, 3.15 GAA, .909 SV%).
This will be Sorokin’s sixth straight start following Semyon Varlamov’s injury. In three career matchups with the Wild, he is 0-2-1 with a 2.32 GAA and .920 SV%, most recently letting in one goal on 31 shots on Feb. 28.
After Filip Gustavsson allowed five goals in a 6-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, Marc-Andre Fleury will likely get the start. It would be his 19th start and 22nd appearance of the season (7-9-3, 3.12 GAA, .893 SV%). The former Penguins’ netminder 28-12-6, in his career against New York with a 2.43 GAA and .918 SV%, most recently letting up two goals on 29 shots on Nov. 7 at UBS Arena.
New York Islanders Lines (Projected)
Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Oliver Wahlstrom
Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson – Hudson Fasching
Simon Holmstrom -- Mathew Barzal -- Kyle Palmieri
Matt Martin -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov – Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech – Scott Mayfield
Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Ken Appleby
Minnesota Wild Lines (Projected)
Kirill Kaprizov – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno – Marco Rossi – Patrick Maroon
Brandon Duhaime – Connor Dewar – Frederick Gaudreau
Jake Middleton – Brock Faber
Alex Gologoski – Zach Bogosian
Jon Merrill – Dakota Mermis
Marc-Andre Fleury
Filip Gustavsson
Islanders Notes
With his helper of Pageau’s goal on Saturday, Dobson enters Monday’s game with five assists in his last two games. The Islanders’ defenseman is one assist away from tying his career-high of 38.
Three Islanders players make their return to their home state tonight: Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, and Hudson Fasching. Nelson, a Warroad, Minnesota native, is three points short of 500 for his NHL career. He can become the 12th Islander to accomplish the feat and the first to reach the milestone since Josh Bailey in 2021.
Bo Horvat leads active Islanders in goals and points against Minnesota, tallying nine and 14, respectively. Kyle Palmieri leads in assists with nine.
Wild Notes
Monday’s game is the Wild’s first matchup with the Islanders with John Hynes as head coach. After Dean Evason was relieved of his duties in November, Minnesota won 12-of-14 but has since lost eight-of-nine. Their struggles continued on Saturday in a 6-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes. The visitors scored early and often, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first period. Nick Bjugstad scored a hat trick in the affair, and Connor Ingram pitched a 38-save shutout.
Minnesota has had the Islanders’ number over their last 10 meetings, going 7-2-1 in that stretch and currently riding a five-game winning streak against New York. In their last meeting on Nov. 7, Patrick Maroon and Dobson traded goals in the opening period, followed by Oliver Wahlstrom and Vinni Lettieri's goals in the second. In the third period, two quick strikes by Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek 42 seconds apart proved to be the difference, as Minnesota earned a 4-2 win.
Mats Zuccarello and Zach Bogosian, who were acquired the day after their previous meeting, each have four goals against the Islanders in their careers to lead the Wild. Marcus Johansson leads in the remaining offensive categories with 20 assists and 23 points.
Betting Corner
Minnesota enters Monday’s game as the favorite, sitting at -120 on the money line compared to the Islanders at +105. The over/under starts at six goals, with over favored at -120, and the under starts at +100.
All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.
How to Watch
The Islanders-Wild matchup will air on MSGSN. On the radio, the game will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN.
Matthew Page contributed to this report.