Mar 9, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Matt Moulson (26) during warm-ups before the game against the St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports
The Islanders season is all but done, but there was plenty to play for tonight as ex-Isles Matt Molson and Nino Niederreiter made their homecoming.
8 minutes into the 1st period, Moulson made his mark as Anders Nilsson got caught out of position and Justin Fontaine dished the puck to Moulson for an easy finish into an open net.
Just a few minutes later, ex-Islanders draft pick, Jared Spurgeon fired a slap shot off the pipe and in after Nino Niederreiter and Dany Heatley got the puck into the zone.
There were chances for Okposo and Lee (x2), but Bryzgalov stood firm even as the Wild showed some defensive frailty. The Islanders were sloppy and Niederreiter nearly scored off a breakaway from a turnover.
In the 2nd period, Mikael Granlund made it 3-0 by burying a pass from Jason Pominville. It was clear this was a strange game when Clayton Stoner scored on a breakaway early in the 3rd period after coming out of the penalty box.
Justin Fontaine roofed one off a Moulson assist to make it 5-0, before Moulson himself got a 2nd on the powerplay late in the 3rd.
Final Score: 6-0
- 3 points for Mikko Koivu makes him the franchise points leader.
- Bryzgalov gets a 36 save shutout, his first for the team.
- Ryan Suter only had to play 23 minutes as Mike Yeo shared ice time around late in the game.