The Islanders left Toronto with a 4-1 win and a long injury list to sort through, grinding out a result despite losing two forwards in the first period and spending much of the night with a short bench.
Cal Ritchie was the first to go, leaving on his opening shift after an awkward collision on the far boards. He was able to skate off under his own power, even if it was clear something had gone wrong. Matias Maccelli’s exit later in the period looked far more troubling, with his leg folding underneath him and teammates helping him off the ice and down the hallway.
Still, the Islanders found a way to keep rolling.
Anthony Duclair opened the scoring eight minutes into the game, finishing off a strong forecheck with a deceptive shot from the slot that beat the play against the grain. For most of the first two periods, that was the only goal on the board, as the Islanders kept things steady while also coming up empty on two first-period power plays.
The second goal finally arrived late in the second period, and it came the same way so much of the night did: pressure, persistence, and a payoff in front. Bo Horvat doubled the lead to 2-0 after another hard forecheck sequence, getting to the slot and eventually burying the rebound of Kyle Palmieri’s shot. Sergei Bobrovsky had come out to stop Palmieri, leaving Horvat with an empty net to finish into.
Toronto got its opening after the third period began. Adam Pelech was whistled for a penalty, giving the Leafs a power play to start the frame, and although the Islanders killed it off, Emil Heineman was then called for a soft, borderline phantom tripping penalty that sent the Leafs right back to the man advantage. The Islanders survived that one too, but just after it expired, Toronto finally broke through on a point shot that picked up a perfect, fractional deflection off Matthew Schaefer, the post and in.
That made it a 2-1 game, and for a stretch the Islanders were in pure hold-on mode. The Leafs had one more dangerous power-play chance when Schaefer went off for puck over the glass at 10:10, but the penalty kill stood tall again. A couple minutes later, Simon Holmstrom gave the Islanders some breathing room with a whipped shot from the slot.
Holmstrom wasn’t done there. He later sealed it with the empty-netter, winning a battle behind the Islanders’ net, carrying the puck out to center ice and scoring from the red line.
Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves, including 12 in the third period, and the Islanders picked up three points from their two-game Ontario swing while adjusting to 10 forwards. The result was a good one. The injuries are the part that will linger.
In Other News...
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Semyon Varlamovs return to the Islanders crease has already made the backup goalie conversation more interesting than it looked a few weeks ago. In a shootout loss to Ottawa, he turned aside 18 of 21 shots in his second start of the season, a solid step forward for a veteran who has only recently gotten back into NHL game action after a long rehab from double-knee replacement.
For a team trying to settle the picture behind Ilya Sorokin, that matters. Varlamovs latest outing suggested he may have earned himself more runway with New York, even if the long-term fit still feels unresolved, and the Islanders now have a tougher call to make as they sort out who belongs in that No. 2 role. [Read more 🡒]
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Mathew Barzals absence has only sharpened the problem, leaving the lineup short on the kind of skill that can tilt games when chances are scarce. With goal production lagging behind the rest of the structure, the Islanders are now trying to find a combination that gives them more than a strong defensive effort and a few scattered looks, because the calendar will not give them much more time to keep experimenting. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Catch A Break As Leafs Lose A Familiar Threat
Toronto will be without a familiar name when it meets the Islanders, after John Tavares was ruled out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The former Islanders captain left the game against Buffalo after a collision, and his absence changes the look of a Maple Leafs lineup that is already preparing to lean on Bo Groulx in his place.
For the Islanders, it is at least a small break in a matchup that always carries a little extra edge when Tavares is in it. Toronto is also expected to have Sergei Bobrovsky in goal, so New York still has a challenging assignment, but one of the game's most recognizable figures will not be on the ice to add to the usual storyline. [Read more 🡒]