3 Takeaways: Isles Pick Up Point in 2-1 Shootout Loss to Wild

Lane Lambert liked a lot of what he saw from the New York Islanders in their 2-1 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild. Really the only thing he didn't like was the result.
"We played good, really good," the Islanders coach said. "Lots of chances. Great structure. Good road game. Total compete. Really a fantastic game. It's a shame we didn't get two points, we deserved it."

Frederick Gaudreau scored the lone goal in the shootout after Josh Bailey and Ryan Reaves traded goals at the end of the first period. The Islanders threw 40 shots at Filip Gustavsson, who turned aside 39, including 19 in the third period and overtime combined before stopping all three Islanders in the shootout. Ilya Sorokin stopped 30-of-31 and turned aside two of the Wild's three chances in the bonus round.
WILD 2, ISLANDERS 1 (SO)
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"It was just a good hockey game," Kyle Palmieri said. "Back and forth, both teams had a couple chances, but for the most part, it was a pretty even game and the score reflected that. I think there's a lot of positives to take out of our game."
While Lambert lamented the point left on the table, securing a point was important for the Islanders (70 points), who stay in the first wild card and one point up on the Pittsburgh Penguins (69 points) after the Pens beat the Nashville Predators 3-1. The Penguins have four games in hand on the Islanders.
Aside from the Penguins win, the Islanders got a few good results on Tuesday. Detroit (64 points) dropped its second game in as many nights to Ottawa (64 points), while Columbus beat Buffalo (66 points) 5-3 in regulation. The Sabres have five games in hand on the Islanders, while Ottawa and Detroit each have four.
"You come on a road trip like this against two really good teams you'll take three of four any day," Bailey said of going 1-0-1 vs Winnipeg and Minnesota. "I think the second point was right there for us, bit of a coin flip when you get to the shootout, all in all, pretty solid road trip."

SHOOTOUT STRUGGLES CONTINUE:

The shootout continues to be a sore spot for the Islanders this season, as they dropped to 0-5 in the bonus round and have only scored on one of their 14 attempts this season.
"Guys got to find a way to score," Lambert said. "It's them and the goalie, they've got to find a way to score that's all there is to it."
Simon Holmstrom, Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri were the Islanders three shooters on Tuesday night, each getting denied by Gustavsson.
The Wild, who went with Mats Zuccarello, Kirill Kaprizov and Gaudreau as their three shooters, improved to 7-3 in shootouts this season.
The Islanders were certainly the more aggressive team in overtime, looking to end the game before the coin flip. Gustavsson made some of his best saves in OT, robbing Zach Parise on a one-timer at the side of the net, while also denying Palmieri with his skate blade as the Isles forward cut across the crease. Gustavsson was named the game's first star.

BAILEY NETS SEVENTH OF SEASON:

Josh Bailey scored for the first time in 24 games on Tuesday, netting the opening goal at 14:15 of the first period.
Bailey, skating in his second game back after missing the previous four with an upper-body injury, cashed in a Scott Mayfield rebound at the side of the net for his seventh tally of the season.
"It felt good obviously," Bailey said of the goal. "He just want to get in there and get it over with and get one and get on the board."
Bailey's goal was counteracted by Ryan Reaves' first as a member of the Minnesota Wild, as Reaves whacked a Jordan Greenway rebound out of the air at the 18-minute mark.

JOHNSTON IN, DURANDEAU OUT:

Ross Johnston drew back into the lineup, as Lambert wanted to give the Islanders a little more size against a big team in the Wild.
It didn't take long for Johnston to drop the gloves with Ryan Reaves, as the heavyweights fought for the second time.
While Johnston didn't get an assist on Bailey's icebreaker in the first period, the 6'5, 230 lbs. winger created some traffic in front of Gustavsson, leading Scott Mayfield's point shot to find Bailey. Johnston finished the game with five penalty minutes and 3:04 TOI on a line with Bailey and Otto Koivula.
Arnaud Durandeau came out of the lineup to accommodate Johnston's return.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders have three days between games, as they host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.