New York Islanders vs Minnesota Wild Picks and Predictions April 4th 2025

Wild Look to End Skid, Climb Wild-Card Ladder Against Slumping Islanders

The Minnesota Wild are deep in the playoff hunt, but they’re in no position to get comfortable. As they visit the New York Islanders on Friday night, they’re locked in a tight race with the St. Louis Blues for the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot — and their recent slide isn’t helping.

Minnesota (41-28-7, 89 points) has dropped three straight and five of its last six. Their latest setback was a 5-4 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, a frustrating game that at least yielded one point.

“All points are good,” said Wild forward Marcus Johansson. “We need as many as we can get… still want the two points. So it’s frustrating.”

Johansson paced the offense with a goal and two assists, while Brock Faber and Gustav Nyquist each posted a goal and an assist. Marco Rossi tied the game early in the third period, and Filip Gustavsson turned away 34 shots.

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Wild Hoping for Strong Finish After Gritty Efforts

Despite the losses, Minnesota has been competitive — which makes the results sting more. Coach John Hynes acknowledged the pressure and importance of every point as the regular season winds down.

“This was going to be a playoff-style road trip,” Hynes said. “To get points on the trip is important, but we got to find a way to get two on Friday.”

The Wild remain neck-and-neck with the Blues, who hosted Pittsburgh on Thursday night. With only a handful of games left, every point could determine who starts the postseason in a stronger position.

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Islanders Spiraling as Duclair Steps Away

The New York Islanders are fading fast. After a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, the Islanders (32-32-10, 74 points) have now lost six straight and are on the outside looking in — five points back of the wild-card spot with four teams to leap over and just eight games to do it.

To make matters worse, forward Anthony Duclair will not play Friday after stepping away from the team following a fiery public critique from head coach Patrick Roy.

“He was god-awful,” Roy said postgame. “He’s not skating, he’s not competing… He’s lucky to be in the lineup.”

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Roy later said the two had a positive conversation and Duclair expressed a desire to step away, which the team respected. The 29-year-old forward, who signed a four-year, $14 million deal last summer, has struggled mightily this season with just 11 points and a minus-15 rating in 44 games.

“It’s an effort thing,” Roy added. “He’s not playing up to what we expect from him.”

Duclair’s absence, along with the mounting losses, underscores the disarray in New York’s locker room. With their playoff hopes all but dashed, the Isles are playing for pride — and possibly jobs.

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