Matthew Schaefer scored the winning goal 33 seconds into overtime to lift the New York Islanders to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Schaefer finished with two goals and an assist for New York, which has won back-to-back games for the second time this season. Bo Horvat and Adam Pelech added one goal apiece.
Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist to lead Minnesota, which saw its three-game winning streak end. Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy scored one goal apiece.
Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin stopped 22 of 25 shots to earn the victory.
Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt allowed four goals on 26 shots.
Schaefer scored the overtime winner on a 2-on-1 rush. He kept the puck and fired a rising wrist shot above Wallstedt’s right shoulder.
The Islanders took a 3-2 lead with 12:46 to play in the third period. Pelech ripped a shot from long range, and the puck deflected off the shin pad of Wild forward Michael McCarron. Wallstedt could not react in time to the change of direction, and the puck found the back of the net.
The Wild pulled even with 3:53 remaining in the third. Boldy stole the puck and carried it toward the left crease, where he scored on a wrist shot before leaping into the boards to celebrate.
Minnesota needed only 27 seconds after the opening faceoff to score the first goal of the game. Kirill Kaprizov fed a pass to Eriksson Ek, who scored on a wrist shot from the high slot.
The Islanders tied it with 3:24 remaining in the first period. Wallstedt stopped a point-blank shot by Emil Heineman but the rebound kicked straight to Schaefer, who quickly capitalized with a snap shot from the left circle for the goal.
New York struck on the power play to grab a 2-1 lead with 18:19 remaining in the second period. Horvat stood near the side of the crease and redirected Simon Holmstrom’s shot for the goal.
The Wild responded late in the second period to even the score again. Hughes scored from a sharp angle on a backhand shot that slipped between Sorokin’s leg pads.
–Field Level Media
