Takeaways: Islanders Fall 3-1 in Toronto

The New York Islanders liked a decent amount of things about their game on Tuesday afternoon, but the result was not one of them, as they fell 3-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

Defensively, they held a talented Toronto team to 25 total shots – including five in the third period – and won the high-danger chance battle 10-7 at five-on-five. The Isles struggling penalty kill was technically three-for-four (more on that later), but had one of its best games in recent memory and New York largely held the Leafs’ top players in check.

That said, the Isles could only bury one of their chances, with JG Pageau netting the lone goal, which was not enough to counteract even strength tallies from David Kampf and Steven Lorentz and eventually an empty-netter from John Tavares.

“I thought we played a good game. To be a great game, we have to win, but I thought we played a good game,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “It's the kind of road game that you need to play and just bear down on your chances.”

Ilya Sorokin stopped 22-of-24 shots in the loss while Joseph Woll stopped 30-of-31 in the win.

The loss was the Islanders second straight defeat and also snapped a five-game winning streak against Toronto. Tuesday also marked the first time this season the Islanders have been three games under NHL .500 (14-17-7).

“We are where we are. It sucks, and not where we want to be, but there's still a lot of belief in here,” Mathew Barzal said. “That's all you need, so we still have a lot of games left.”

HOW IT HAPPENED:

A good first period was undercut by a late goal by Kampf, who went undetected at the front of the net and tucked in a William Nylander feed with a pair of Islanders below the goal line and a defenseman at the wrong post at 17:54. Brock Nelson took ownership of the goal after the game as the forward who dipped below the goal line.

Still, the Isles came out with some jump to start the second seemingly tying the score on an Adam Pelech shot, but it was overturned via an offside challenge. The Islanders responded in kind, successfully challenging a would-be goal from Matthew Knies due to goalie interference.

Pageau eventually got the Islanders on the board, converting a cross-ice feed from Noah Dobson at the 11:59 mark of the middle frame. The tie was short-lived, as Lorentz went outside-in on Scott Mayfield and snapped a shot high glove side on Sorokin 16 seconds later.

The Islanders outshot the Leafs 10-5 in the third period, but Toronto’s pack-the-house mentality limited the quality opportunities. Mathew Barzal rang a shot off the crossbar on perhaps the Isles best chance, with Nelson being denied on a shorthanded breakaway in the final five minutes.

Tavares eventually iced the game on an empty-netter, which came under unusual circumstances. With the Isles shorthanded in the final minute, Roy opted to keep Sorokin on the bench to have five skaters aside. The bet – win the face-off and give the Isles one last chance to get up the ice – ultimately didn’t pay out, with Toronto winning the draw the Tavares eventually sealing it.

Roy said he’d tried the move with the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL, but acknowledged that the percentages were low either way to tie the game if the Leafs had won the draw.

PENALTY KILL TAKES STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION:

Technically the Islanders penalty kill went three-for-four on Tuesday afternoon, but the empty-net, power-play goal to end the game was a big caveat to what was an otherwise strong game for the shorthanded unit.

“They get one empty net, but other than that, it was perfect game. I don't think we've had too many of those lately, so that's a positive,” Dobson said. “[We have to] build on it and get ready for the next one.”

During traditional circumstances, the Isles went three-for-three, finding ways to clear pucks, keep the Leafs from smooth zone entries and even generating some offense, with Nelson nearly tying the game.

It was a “step in the right direction” for a group that was killing at 50% for the 12 games entering Tuesday.

“We recognized the danger. We did a good job in that regard protecting the middle area,” Roy said. “I think it's a good step in the right direction, in my opinion. We had good meetings yesterday about it, and we all know that we need to be better on penalty killing. This afternoon was a great job by our guys.”

ODDS AND ENDS:

• Pageau led the Islanders with 10 shot attempts – including a team-high tying five shots on goal – and six hits. Pageau now has goals in two straight games against the Leafs and three tallies in his last five games.
• Ryan Pulock had a team-high four blocked shots and 22:07 TOI.

LINEUP NOTES:

Simon Holmstrom missed Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury. Pierre Engvall drew into the lineup after missing the last four games as a healthy scratch. Engvall joined Kyle MacLean and Hudson Fasching on a line that got a positive review from Roy.

Auston Matthews missed his fifth straight game for Toronto, while Pontus Holmberg and Oliver Ekman-Larsson missed the game with illnesses.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders kick off 2025 with a rematch against the Maple Leafs on Thursday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.