Barring a dramatic reversal, the Islanders will end up with the worst record in the league this season, but they insist they aren’t going down without a fight.
Last night, they apparently meant that literally.
The Isles dropped a 6-2 decision to the Wild in one of their chippiest games of the season.
“They play a pretty frustrating style,” said Kyle Okposo, who was as visibly upset during a game as he’s been during his brief NHL career. “They did some lippy stuff that I let get to me more than I should have. I gotta work on that.”
Against a Minnesota team trying to qualify for the playoffs, the Islanders didn’t back down from the game’s physicality, particularly after Blake Comeau went through the boards at the end of the first period.
Comeau finished a check and then was hit just as the door was being opened by a Coliseum employee.
“It was kind of a freak thing,” Comeau said. “Emotions got high.”
He said that no one on Minnesota threw any cheap shots at him, but Okposo disagreed.
“Two of their guys hit Blake after the fact,” Okposo said. “That’s what started the whole thing.”
The Wild were not pleased with the Isles’ attempts at retribution.
“It’s a team that really has got nothing to play for, so you have guys going out there kind of not really caring if they take stupid penalties at stupid times,” Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck said. “That’s what they did and it cost them. It’s a good thing nobody got hurt.”
Wild coach Jacques Lemaire agreed.
“They tried to run us out of the rink,” Lemaire said. “There is no doubt. It will be interesting next year when we play them.”
For Isles goalie Yann Danis, it was his second consecutive subpar game.
“One thing he wants to make sure is that his play up to this point hasn’t been a fluke,” coach Scott Gordon said.
Danis said he hasn’t lost confidence, but admitted, “I’ve got to be better.”
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The team announced that Andy Sutton, out since December after breaking his foot, would miss the rest of the season.
Wild 6 Islanders 2