Minnesota vs New York Islanders Prediction 9 February 2025

🔊 Will the "Wild" return to their winning ways? Minnesota is struggling to emerge from a deep slump that hit the team at the end of January. The club managed to maintain a position in the top-8 of the West but has become highly vulnerable. The Islanders, on the other hand, made an impressive tournament surge in the East thanks to a series of victories. However, their momentum is gradually waning.

📊 Head-to-Head

Last season, the opponents faced each other twice, and the "Wild" left the "Islanders" with no chance, securing two convincing victories (4:2, 5:0). There was no real intense battle back then; the current home team immediately took the initiative and achieved overall success. The most productive player was Minnesota forward Joel Eriksson. The Swede managed to score a total of three goals and provided an assist. However, his current form raises certain doubts as he hasn't scored any points in four consecutive matches.

🟢 Minnesota

John Hynes' team is gradually returning to the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. However, they still cannot fully get back on the winning track. In their last four games, the "Wild" were defeated twice, and both times without scoring: first, a thrashing by Ottawa (0:6), followed by a fiasco in Boston (0:3). Yes, they managed to defeat one of the Eastern leaders, Carolina (2:1), but the playoff race in the Western Conference is now intensifying to the limit. Their former resilience is gone, and they are unable to build a new one.

🟠 Islanders

The "Islanders" remained one of the hottest teams in the East for a long time. The club had 8 wins in 9 matches and a rapid tournament rise. However, the streak is clearly coming to an end, as Patrick Roy's team suffered two losses in their last three games and are once again losing chances for a playoff spot. The current gap is already four points, although the team is quite capable of overcoming it. Even in lost matches, they demonstrate considerable attacking efficiency.

🔗 Probable Lineups

Minnesota: Gustavsson - Middleton, Faber - Boldy, Eriksson, Zuccarello

Islanders: Sorokin - DeAngelo, Romanov - Duclair, Horvat, Lee

🥅 Goalkeepers

Minnesota's goaltender Filip Gustavsson has returned to his ideal form. In his last four matches, the Swede failed to maintain a 90% save rate only once. Predictably, that was when his team suffered a heavy defeat against Ottawa (88.5%). If the goalie has indeed regained confidence in his abilities, then the break for national team matches will only benefit him.

Islanders' goaltender Ilya Sorokin has only had one setback in his last seven matches. The Russian couldn't counter Winnipeg's attack, saving only 85.2% of shots on his goal. This ended his personal winning streak of six games. The graduate of the Novokuznetsk hockey school must do everything possible to get his team back on the winning path.

📝 Editorial Prediction

The home team is gradually recovering and fully returning to the race. Now comes an almost decisive moment of the season, and the "Wild" can no longer afford to lose points at home. Meanwhile, the Islanders' winning momentum is starting to fade, and the team is clearly losing steam. Even scoring goals has become a huge challenge for them. In recent years, the confrontations between these teams have been quite one-sided. For six consecutive meetings, Patrick Roy's team has been unable to defeat the home side in regular time. In our opinion, this trend will remain relevant. We recommend betting on - Minnesota will not lose.