Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Marian Gaborik scored twice and dished out two assists, as Minnesota moved into a tie for the West's final playoff spot with a 6-2 beating of the lowly New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
The Wild now have 78 points and are tied with Anaheim and Nashville for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The Ducks are also in action on Wednesday night, playing at Colorado.
Antti Miettinen, Owen Nolan, Martin Skoula, and Andrew Brunette also scored for the Wild, who bounced back from a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday to win for the second time in three tries. Nolan and Brunette also added two helpers each. Niklas Backstrom stopped 32 shots to collect his 33rd win of the season.
Bruno Gervais and Andy Hilbert lit the lamp for the Islanders, who have lost three consecutive games. Yann Danis turned away 22 shots for New York, which is last in the NHL with 56 points.
The Islanders drew first blood on a goal from Gervais at the 7:37 mark of the first period. Mark Streit drew two Wild defenders at the right point, dumped to Gervais at the opposite point and the blueliner made his way to the left circle for a shot past the pads of Backstrom.
Gaborik lit the lamp for Minnesota with 8:14 remaining to tie the tilt at one as Marek Zidlicky set up the score with a perfect pass from behind the net.
Miettinen scored on the power play to put the Wild ahead 2-1 with one minute left in the first. Pierre-Marc Bouchard hit Miettinen with a pass from behind the net this time and the latter beat Danis, who was late in stacking the pads against the side of the post.
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Nolan's 23rd goal of the year extended Minnesota's margin to 3-1 with 3:03 left in the second frame as his slapshot deflected off a New York defender and trickled through the five-hole of Danis.
Skoula, Brunette, and Gaborik scored in the final period to put the game away, while Hilbert lit the lamp for New York in the third.
