Wild rally in 3rd period, defeat Islanders to end 3-game skid

ELMONT, N.Y. --Frederick Gaudreau and Sam Steel scored 1:33 apart in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild rallied for a 3-1 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday.

Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist, and Filip Gustavsson made 19 saves for the Wild (23-14-4), who had lost three in a row (0-1-2).
"We challenged them," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "They challenged themselves. Like we said this morning, two [were] in overtime and one was a shootout, but they're still losses. [It's] still three losses in a row. So, yeah, there was some urgency in our game."
Scott Mayfield scored for the Islanders (22-18-3), who have lost four straight (0-3-1). Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves.
"It's frustrating," Mayfield said. "Their goalie played really well too. We couldn't find a way to beat him, and we made some costly mistakes that ended up in our net."

Gaudreau tied it 1-1 when he one-timed a feed from Joel Eriksson Ek for a short-handed goal at 10:55 of the third.
Sorokin stretched across the crease and got his glove on the shot, but video review determined the puck crossed the goal line for Gaudreau's 10th of the season.
"The goal, I wasn't sure," Gaudreau said. "I felt like his mitt went far, and that's why I was trying to point to the ref to at least go and check it out. It's fun when all the things happen the right way."
Steel gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead at 12:28 on a snap shot after a pass from Mats Zuccarello (two assists).
Sorokin stopped all 17 shots he faced in the second period.
"He's been outstanding for us," New York coach Lane Lambert said. "Certainly, we need to score more. We need to give him some support. He's done a great job of keeping the puck out of the net and keeping us in every game."

Mayfield gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 16:49 of the first period when his low wrist shot from beyond the right face-off circle found its way past Gustavsson at the far side of the net.
It was the first time New York scored the first goal of a game since Dec. 29.
"It was extra frustrating when they scored that stupid goal in the first period," Gustavsson said. "I [stood] back there [yelling] and hoped that they'd bail me out."

Gustavsson kept it a one-goal game with a save on Simon Holmstrom's one-timer from the left face-off circle at 5:01 of the third.
Kaprizov scored an empty-net goal with 1:13 left for the 3-1 final. It was his 25th of the season.
The Wild limited the Islanders to 20 shots and killed all three New York power plays.
"We played a good game, [but] we beat ourselves in the third," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "We gave them too many opportunities that they capitalized on. Up until that point it was a solid game, but you've got to find a way. It just can't happen."
NOTES: Kaprizov has five goals in his past five games. … New York is 3-6-0 in its past nine games against Minnesota. … Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho played his 100th NHL game. He is the first player selected in the 2017 NHL Draft in the fifth round (No. 139) or later to play 100 games.