From the early stages, it was clear to see the Minnesota Wild would control the game against the New York Islanders Tuesday night. The Wild came out of New York with a 6-0 win.
The game was a homecoming of sorts for new Wild member Matt Moulson and it didn’t take him long to remind the Islander fans of his play. He scored the first goal of the game, early to put the Wild up 1-0.
Whistles and cheers from the #isles faithful after Moulson's goal. The organ getting louder to tone em out
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 18, 2014
Moulson finished with a pair of goals in the game for the Wild. He now has 20 on the season. Moulson played for the Islanders for five seasons, before being traded earlier this year to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek. Moulson was acquired from Buffalo at the trade deadline by the Wild.
The other former Islanders also played a big role in the game. Jared Spurgeon, a former Islander draft pick who the club released, scored the second goal. On that goal, another former Islander draft pick, Nino Neiderreiter, assisted.
The other star for the Wild was goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. Despite being outshot 16-6 in the first period, Bryzgalov did a nice job in net, keeping the Islanders off the scoreboard, allowing the Wild to take a 2-0 first period lead. Bryzgalov finished with 36 saves on the night.
According to the Star Tribune, it was the first shutout for Bryzgalov as a member of the Wild and the 32nd shutout of his career.
The Wild won despite being dramatically outshot 36-22 on the night.
Justin Fontaine had a goal and an assist for the Wild, and Mikko Koivu had a pair of assists. Mikael Granlund and Clayton Stoner had the other Wild goals.
The Wild currently sit seventh in the Western Conference. They have a five point lead on eighth-place Phoenix and a seven point lead on ninth-place Dallas.
