Isles’ Sloppy Play Against Wild Ends Five-Game Point Streak at UBS Arena
The Wild scored on their first shot, and the Islanders struggled throughout the game. Their passes missed connections, turnovers piled up, and they were outworked by the Wild, who capitalized on the Islanders’ defensive lapses.
“I don’t think we executed well at all,” said Anders Lee. “I think we were clearly off from the get-go. When we struggle to break the puck out and we struggle with our turnovers, it’s going to be a long night.”
The game ended in a 5-2 loss on Friday at UBS Arena, concluding the Islanders’ 1-1-1 homestand and stopping their five-game point streak at home. David Rittich made 21 saves for the Islanders (6-6-2).
Upcoming Challenges
The Islanders will begin a seven-game road trip on Saturday against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, hoping for a quick recovery.
“I think they beat us to a lot,” said Bo Horvat, who assisted Emil Heineman’s goal to bring the Islanders within 2-1 early in the second period. “I think they outworked us a lot tonight. We’ve got to correct that come [Saturday].”
Any momentum from Heineman’s goal quickly faded after Brock Faber scored for the Wild just over a minute later with a shot from the slot.
“I guess you’ve got nights like this,” coach Patrick Roy said. “You have nights where you’re on and there’s nights where you’re not on. As a group, we didn’t execute, we didn’t compete as good as they did.”
Summary
The Islanders’ poor execution and lack of competitiveness allowed the Wild to end their home point streak and expose flaws to address before their upcoming road trip.
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