ST. PAUL, Minn. — This was the sort of win to make believers of the Islanders.
More because of how the schedule broke than any other reason, the road trip that ended here Thursday night was the first time all season they had the chance to test themselves as a visiting team against bona fide Stanley Cup contenders.
While Sunday’s game in Dallas didn’t go according to plan, they matched the Wild blow-for-blow. The 4-3 overtime victory that came from it is easily the best the Islanders have had during the season’s first month, even if Matt Boldy’s tying goal with under four minutes to go had them sweating before Matthew Schaefer won it.
They were never overwhelmed by Minnesota’s speed. They protected the middle of the ice in their own zone and played smart, physical hockey for 60 minutes. It didn’t quite keep the Wild’s cadre of superstars quiet, but certainly it kept them from taking over the game. Handing Minnesota its first loss of the season on home ice, plus earning their first win after giving up the first goal, are two achievements on which the Islanders can hang their hats.
So, too, is that this game was played mostly on the Islanders’ terms. There wasn’t much space to work with for either team, and rush chances were few and far between. That’s exactly the environment Pete DeBoer’s squad has thrived in so far, and it wasn’t too different here.
They entered the third period tied 2-2 but with a huge 8-3 edge on high-danger chances at five-on-five — an indication of how well the Islanders defended even with Ryan Pulock done for the night with an upper-body injury after playing just two shifts and 51 seconds.
The chance to retake the lead came after the Islanders killed off their third penalty of the night. After Victor Eklund won a puck battle along the boards, it floated to Adam Pelech in space, and the defenseman’s shot hit Michael McCarron in the leg before getting past Jesper Wallstedt, the change in direction seemingly catching the netminder out.
There was still plenty of game left from there, with the goal coming 7:14 into the third, and an Islanders defense that had been stout all night started to finally show some wear late in the game. Boldy tied it on the rush with 3:53 to go after a couple of poor shifts in a row put the Islanders on their heels.
It salvaged the Wild a point, but in their fourth try this season, the Islanders won a game in the extra period. This time, it didn’t even take Schaefer logging a five-minute shift.
He did, however, net the winner — putting in a two-on-one chance off the rush.
The only development about which the Islanders might be quietly worried is that of Ilya Sorokin. In his first start after letting in six goals against the Stars — a performance that could easily be called both an outlier and a product of poor defense — the goaltender let in three softies.
First, just 27 seconds into the game, Joel Eriksson Ek beat him clean from 41 feet out. Then, late in the second period, Quinn Hughes lifted a sharp-angle backhand past Sorokin’s pads to tie the game at two. Even Boldy’s tying goal was one Sorokin probably should have had.
In between, the Islanders largely had the better of their opposition.
While Minnesota’s top line of Eriksson Ek centering Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov played up ice, and Hughes got plenty of zone time, the Islanders did a good job protecting the middle, and of producing when that foursome was off the ice. Their penalty kill also acquitted itself well, going 3-for-3.
Schaefer scored a goal and put up a secondary assist to equal Hughes’ output on the night, jumping on Emil Heineman’s rebound late in the first to tie the game at one.
At 1:41 of the second, Simon Holmstrom threaded a terrific backdoor pass to Bo Horvat for a deflection that gave the Islanders a temporary 2-1 lead.
Ahead of what promises to be a tough homestand, with the Oilers, Hurricanes and Devils all coming to UBS Arena, Thursday looked like proof positive that when the Islanders have it going, they can hang with the league’s best.
