Noah Dobson, Islanders too strong for scuffling Wild

Defenseman Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist to lead the New York Islanders to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday night in Elmont, N.Y.

Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom also scored for the Islanders (33-32-10, 76 points), who snapped a six-game losing streak. Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves.

Mats Zuccarello provided the offense for the Wild (41-29-7, 89 points), who lost their fourth in a row (0-3-1). Filip Gustavsson stopped 24 shots.

After a scoreless first period, the teams combined for three goals in the first five minutes of the second. The result was a 2-1 New York lead.

Zuccarello, however, got the game's first goal when he banked a shot in off Sorokin's head from behind the net 1:42 into the middle period.

But it only took 36 seconds for the Islanders to answer when Cizikas tipped in Dobson's shot from the right point.

Holmstrom gave New York the 2-1 lead 4:02 into the second when, off the rush, his intended pass went into the net off Minnesota's Frederick Gaudreau.

Dobson's power-play goal gave the Islanders a two-goal lead 3:36 into the third period. He scored on a one-time slap shot from above the left circle for his first power-play marker of the season.

Wild defenseman Jake Middleton had to be helped off the ice and to the locker room after he was pushed into the boards behind the Minnesota net headfirst by Bo Horvat, who was assessed a boarding minor (two minutes) with 8:56 left in the second period. Middleton did not return.

Minnesota outshot New York 11-4 in the first period and had the last seven shots of the period.

Sorokin was forced to make a good stop on Yakov Trenin's tip late in the first, and Gustavsson thwarted Holmstrom cutting off the right wing a little more than four minutes into the contest.

--Field Level Media