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The New York Islanders fell 4-3 to the Minnesota Wild last night, marking their third loss at home over their last four games.
Final. pic.twitter.com/xiawtPVQuO
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 31, 2022
The Wild regained their two goal lead early in the second period, with Matthew Boldy tipping in a shot from Victor Rask. However, New York took over after that, outshooting Minnesota 14-6 in the frame. Ross Johnston ended up taking the puck off a turnover and going in alone to beat Kahkonen, cutting the lead to 3-2. Despite the strong second period though, the Islanders couldn’t convert again and entered the third period down.
New York continued to outplay the Wild through most of the third period, outshooting Minnesota 18-5 in the frame. However, Minnesota extended their lead partway through the period, as Kirill Kaprizov tipped in a shot from Matt Dumba. Oliver Wahlstrom did poke in a loose puck with about four minutes to play and the Islanders got some excellent chances to tie the game in the final minutes, but Minnesota held on for the 4-3 win.
While New York tends to struggle against stronger competition, this wasn’t really one of those games. They outplayed Minnesota through most of the game, outshooting the Wild by a massive 43-21 margin.
That said, dropping another two points at home really hurts. They’re back below a .500 points percentage and their chances of climbing back into the playoff race don’t look great right now.
Even though they were the better team, the Islanders needed to be able to bury their chances and also needed Ilya Sorokin to win the goaltending battle against Kaapo Kahkonen. With those two things not coming to fruition, they now find themselves slipping further out of playoff contention.
New York’s next game comes tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators.
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