Easton Cowan made sure the Toronto Maple Leafs got out of Wednesday night with something to build on.
Cowan had a goal and an assist in the opening period, and Toronto held on for a 2-1 win over the visiting New York Islanders to give new coach Jim Hiller his first victory. The Maple Leafs have split their first two games after dropping their home opener 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
Toronto got the start it wanted from a player who was all over the ice early. Cowan’s work along the left boards helped create the opening goal, as Colton Sissons tipped in Nicholas Paul’s shot at 7:14 of the first period. A few minutes later, Cowan finished another chance, sliding a Jack Roslovic pass into the net at 11:55 on the power play while Victor Eklund was in the box for cross-checking John Tavares.
Anthony Stolarz backed up the lead with 26 saves, and the Maple Leafs needed every bit of that cushion once the Islanders started pressing. Emil Heineman scored New York’s lone goal in its season opener, and Ilya Sorokin turned aside 24 shots at the other end.
The Islanders had the stronger early push before Toronto settled in and took control. Even after the Leafs built a 2-0 lead, there were chances to stretch it further.
Sissons nearly added another at 14:22 of the second period, ringing an 18-foot shot off the right post after an Alexander Romanov turnover. Sorokin had already denied Sissons earlier in the period.
Toronto’s netminder protected the lead through a tense third period. Stolarz stopped Anthony Duclair at 6:38, then handled a Kyle Palmieri look after the Islanders earned a power play. New York got another man-advantage when Jake McCabe was called for tripping Bo Horvat at 10:50, but Horvat’s best chance from the right circle stayed out on Stolarz’s pads.
The game tightened even more when the penalties kept piling up. Toronto’s next power play turned into trouble instead of insurance, as Horvat fed Heineman from the right wing and Heineman finished from the edge of the crease for a short-handed goal at 14:09 of the third. That was as close as the Islanders got.
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Lost in the noise was another contract situation involving a former top prospect, with Simon Edvinsson still unsigned and training in Sweden as negotiations continue. For a Maple Leafs audience, it is the kind of surrounding news that matters because it speaks to how many moving parts can shape a season before a team even gets fully settled, and this one still has a notable piece left unresolved. [Read more 🡒]