Islanders Fall 4-2 to Wild For two periods last night at UBS Center, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/42-second-lapse-sinks-islanders-fall-to-wild-minnesota] played solid hockey. But the 2-2 tie evaporated with a pair of visitor goals and a 4-2 Minnesota victory. Okay, okay, the Orange and Blue are still over .500 and didn't blow the dreaded three-goal lead; only a one-goaler after Oliver Wahlstrom put his club ahead, 2-1 at 8:34 of the second period. As a matter of fact, everything looked ginger-peachy well into the 6:50 mark of the third period when the dreaded Kirill Kiprizov put a power player past Semyon Varlamov, and that -- for the most part -- was the Old Ball Game. Before the Isles could exhale, Joel Eriksson Ek made it 4-2 just 42 seconds later, and that set in motion a couple of deep, non-analytical questions: Why did Varly start rather than Ilya Sorokin, who generally calls the UBS ice palace his happy hunting grounds? What's with Bo Horvat, out of action after limping to the dressing room late in Saturday's game? Even with Adam Pelech back in the lineup, the defense was not what we hoped it would be; especially Alex Romanov. An unfortunate third-period penalty and a weak PK led to another third-period lost game. Ah, but there's some good news with today's pancakes. My co-author on the new Islanders 50-year history book, Zachary Weinstock -- along with David Kolb -- mostly liked Mat Barzal back at center with Oliver Wahlstrom having returned to the lineup. "Playing back at the middle gave Barzal a lot of room to skate with the puck," said Weinstock, "which he loves. Meanwhile, Wahlstrom scored a textbook 'goalscorer's goal.' And that's what they need from him. "If Ollie can play with discipline, he'll have a spot in the lineup more often than not. He deserved the game's third star." Also, the club's 5-3-3 record has the Elmonters right in the mix, but there's shaping up to be done. Pronto! And here's why: Next up are the Bruins tomorrow in Boston, where those Hub guys rarely lose. Puck Drop is at 7 p.m. The Maven expects Sorokin to start. Why not?
