SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- When you're away from home for a long stretch, nothing helps pass the time like winning. That's a lesson the New York Islanders are learning in the midst of their longest road trip of the season.

Star center John Tavares had a goal and an assist for the Islanders on Tuesday as they won for the sixth time in their past eight games, beating the Minnesota Wild 4-1 and improving to 2-0-0 on the seven-game road swing.

Goaltender Jaroslav Halak had 30 saves while center Frans Nielson scored twice and left winger Matt Martin got the Islanders on the scoreboard early. New York (32-19-7) swept its season series with Minnesota.

The Wild, who had won their first four games under interim head coach John Torchetti, fell behind early and couldn't catch up. Minnesota (27-23-10) got a goal from left winger Chris Porter and 27 saves from goalie Devan Dubnyk, but remains winless at Xcel Energy Center in 2016. The Islanders, who have the NHL's top-rated penalty kill, blanked the Wild on five power plays.

"We came out with real good legs early and were aggressive and got rewarded," Tavares said. "It's always good feeling to start on the road and get that first goal from some good hard work. Special teams were a big part of the game today and (Halak) made some big saves. We got some big goals at big times."

The Islanders led 2-1 after 40 minutes and got an insurance goal early in the third on a power play. Tavares' team-leading 23rd goal of the season came on a tap-in at the top of the crease with Dubnyk tied up by traffic. Torchetti challenged the play, claiming Islanders left winger Anders Lee was interfering with Dubnyk when the goal was scored, but after a review the call on the ice stood.

With Minnesota on a late power play and Dubnyk on the bench, Nielson fired a puck the length of the ice for a short-handed empty-net goal.

While Sunday's outdoor win over Chicago in the Stadium Series game counts as a home win, the Wild have not gotten a home victory indoors since Dec. 28, going 0-6-3 at the X since.

"You always want to be a good home team and we haven't done that as of late," Wild center Charlie Coyle said, with his team heading to the East Coast for a pair of games later in the week. "Right now, we've got to focus on the road, heading down there and getting those games. But we've got to get back to playing our game and our style of hockey here, and take care of business in this building."

The Islanders needed just 96 seconds to take the lead, as a carom off the end boards gave Martin a loose puck at the left side of the net. He popped a quick shot behind Dubnyk for an early 1-0 advantage.

"It was good for us to get that one early to give us a little bit of confidence on this road trip against a really good team and try to take some of the crowd noise out and get some of the momentum," said Islanders coach Jack Capuano. "We were resilient tonight and played a good game all the way around. It was one of our best games of the season."

After killing a pair of Minnesota power plays, the Islanders doubled their lead on their first power play of the game. Stationed near the boards on the edge of the right circle, Tavares slid a perfect pass to the low slot, where Nielsen needed only to re-direct the puck to the lower left corner of the net.

"We were trying to be too fine with it and we weren't getting inside like we want," said Torchetti, critiquing his team's power play. "A couple of times we didn't have the net-front presence. I think we had two chances that I liked, but you've got to get more than that when you get five opportunities."

Frustrated by Halak for much of the second, the Wild finally broke through in the final minute of the period. Defenseman Marco Scandella celebrated his 26th birthday with an assist, throwing a shot toward the net from the blue line. The puck struck traffic in front of Halak, but ricocheted to the left of the crease, where Porter was all alone and needed only to tap the puck into a mostly empty net. It was just the fourth goal of the season for Porter, who had been a healthy scratch in nine of Minnesota's previous 10 games.

NOTES: Islanders rookie D Ryan Pulock was in the building, but not on the ice, for New York on Tuesday. Recalled by the Isles from their Bridgeport AHL team on Monday, Pulock is expected to make his NHL debut soon. He was New York's first-round pick, 15th overall, in the 2013 draft. ... Minnesota was without LW Jason Zucker, who suffered an upper-body injury in the Wild's 6-1 win over Chicago on Sunday. Zucker was hit in the head by Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival during the second period of their Stadium Series game. Rozsival was ejected from the game but received no further discipline from the NHL. ... The Islanders visit the Calgary Flames on Thursday night, and have games in Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg and vs. the Rangers in Manhattan before their next home game. ... Minnesota embarks on a two-game East Coast swing next, facing the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday.