Islanders beat Wild on Simon Holmstrom's overtime goal, his second tally of the game
The Islanders' Simon Holmstrom (No. 10) celebrates with teammates Emil Heineman (No. 51) and Mathew Barzal after scoring the winning goal in overtime against the Wild on Jan. 10, 2026 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Credit: NHLI via Getty Images/Bruce Kluckhohn
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Eastern Conference is a tight squeeze of a playoff chase with no clear favorite to advance to June’s Stanley Cup Final. As many as 12 teams, the Islanders included, are thinking, “Why not us?”
The Western Conference is different, with the Avalanche, Stars and Wild clearly a cut above. Which is why Saturday night’s game was so interesting when it came to assessing the Islanders.
The Quinn Hughes-led Wild were faster, there was no doubt. But the Islanders’ dogged scrappiness allowed them to answer three one-goal deficits and survive a one-sided third period for a feel-good 4-3 overtime win at Grand Casino Arena.
“It says a lot,” said Simon Holmstrom, who got to the crease for a backhander at 1:34 of overtime to cap his two-goal, one-assist gem. “I think we’ve proven that this entire season, the resilience we have and the team that we are. They’re a great team, no doubt about it, and we had to play some defense through a lot of the game and we did a great job and Sorokie [Ilya Sorokin], as usual, came up with some massive saves.”
Sorokin made 17 of his 33 saves in his brilliant third period for the Islanders (25-15-5), who are 1-0-1 on this seven-game trip. Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots for the Wild (26-11-9), who were coming off a 4-1-2 road trip.
“It was a tough game for me,” said Sorokin, his voice hoarse after he was hit in the throat by a puck during the morning skate. “Their first and second lines, it’s crazy. Pass, pass, pass with a lot of movement. So it’s a great win against a great team.”
Hughes, the elite-skating, playmaking defenseman acquired from the Canucks on Dec. 12, had three assists and eight shots in a game-high 30:23. The Islanders’ version, rookie Matthew Schaefer, more than held his own, particularly defensively, in his team-high 27:41.
The Wild’s top line of Danila Yurov (four shots, including three point-blank saves by Sorokin in the third period), Sorokin’s lifelong friend Kirill Kaprizov (one goal on seven shots) and Mats Zuccarello (two shots) was constantly at the crease.
“One hundred percent,” Anders Lee said of the Wild playing faster. “We were resilient. It didn’t bother us that they were doing some loops. It’s a fast team. It’s a really good hockey team. A ton of skill. Sorokie saved us when we needed it. But the whole night, we kept coming back. We kept fighting ourselves into it and didn’t have a lead until the end. It says a lot about this group.”
The Islanders went 0-for-3 on the power play and are 0-for-6 in their last four games. But Casey Cizikas, off Holmstrom’s feed, got to the crease for a shorthanded backhander with 25.7 seconds left in the second period to tie it at 3-3.
“That was a big kill for us and scoring on that one at the end of the period,” said coach Patrick Roy, who then was asked specifically about Holmstrom. “Oh, my God. He was, again, outstanding.”
Holmstrom lifted a wrist shot to tie it at 2-2 at 1:29 of the second period after Matt Boldy’s five-on-three power-play goal at 15:25 of the first period gave the Wild their second one-goal lead. Kaprizov, taking defenseman Daemon Hunt’s cross-ice feed to the right post, provided a third lead at 8:26 of the second period.
Ben Jones, with a redirection from the slot for his first point in 49 career NHL games, opened the scoring at 2:51 of the first period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau was credited with tying it on a scramble at 4:18 as Marcus Johansson knocked the puck into his own net.
“Every game is different,” Schaefer said. “Tonight, it was a team effort.”
“They’re one of the top teams in the league,” defenseman Tony DeAngelo said. “Good win.”
Notes & quotes: Anthony Duclair had four attempts — one on net — in 14:59 as he was elevated to Mathew Barzal’s top line . . . Max Tsyplakov (8:42) drew into the lineup on the fourth line for Kyle MacLean after being a healthy scratch the two previous games. Adam Boqvist (8:43) drew in for defenseman Cole McWard on the third pair after being a healthy scratch for the previous nine games and 18 of the last 20.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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