Simon Holmstrom scored his second goal of the game in overtime as the New York Islanders ruined the Wild’s 2026 homecoming, coming from behind three times to hand Minnesota a 4-3 loss on Saturday night in St. Paul.
The Wild led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but New York had an answer all three times, spoiling an impressive show by Minnesota defenseman Quinn Hughes, who set up all three of the team’s goals in their first home game since before Christmas.
Ben Jones scored his first career goal for Minnesota, which got 23 saves from Filip Gustavsson, along with early goals from Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, but split their two-game season series with the Islanders. It was the fourth time in the past six games that the Wild have needed more than 60 minutes to settle the score.
They lost forward Ryan Hartman for a time in the latter half of the third period when he blocked an Islanders shot that appeared to hit Hartman on the side of his skate. He limped off the ice and had to be helped down the tunnel, but returned a few shifts later.
Playing in his 49th NHL game, and his first since being recalled from Iowa earlier in the day, Jones finally made his way into a game summary when he redirected a perfect cross-ice pass from Brock Faber to open the scoring.
But the Islanders tied the game just 87 seconds later on a messy play in front of the Minnesota net. Gustavsson made the initial save on a long-range shot by defenseman Tony DeAngelo, but the puck sat loose in the Wild crease for just a bit too long. When Wild forward Marcus Johansson tried to swat the puck into the corner, it instead slid over the goal line, with Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau getting credit for the goal.
When the New Yorkers ran into penalty trouble later in the first, Minnesota got 29 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage — and only needed 26 of them for Boldy to blast a shot past the Islanders goalie. It was the 27th goal and 50th point of the season for Boldy, making him just the third player in Wild history to record 50 points or more in four consecutive seasons. Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov are the others.
The Islanders answered early in the middle frame when Holmstrom beat Gustavsson with a seeing-eye shot from the left circle. New York got a key save from goalie Ilya Sorokin early in the second as well, when he stopped Kaprizov’s solo rush to the net with a deft glove.
He couldn’t stop Kaprizov’s next shot, and the Russian star made it 3-2 following a cross-ice pass from Daemon Hunt. The goal moved Kaprizov into second place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 438 points. Mikko Koivu holds the record with 709.
But New York again had an answer, tying the game in the final minute of the period on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush to the net.
Sorokin had 33 saves for New York, who the Wild beat 5-2 in early November on Long Island.
The Wild played Saturday without second line center Joel Eriksson Ek, who was injured in Thursday’s win in Seattle and missed the third period and overtime. Speaking to reporters before meeting the Islanders, Wild coach John Hynes said Eriksson Ek is day to day and the injury is not considered serious.
The Hughes family reunion comes to Grand Casino Arena on Monday, as the Wild defenseman will face brothers Jack and Luke for the first time in a Minnesota sweater. The New Jersey Devils’ lone visit to St. Paul this season faces off at 7 p.m. CT.
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