Horvat has two points, Islanders defeat slumping Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Bo Horvat had a goal and an assist for the New York Islanders in a 4-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

“That wasn’t easy, especially against a team like that,” Horvat, the Islanders captain, said. “A lot of high-end talent, a lot of offense, and for guys to step up the way they did tonight with two guys going down early, it shows a lot about our group. Everybody stepped up in a different way tonight.”

Simon Holmstrom scored twice, and Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves for the Islanders (4-3-1), who have alternated wins and losses through their first eight games.

New York played most of the game without forwards Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli, who were each injured in the first period. Ritchie left after just one shift with a lower-body injury, and Maccelli exited at 16:36 after falling awkwardly on his left knee when he was tripped by Darren Raddysh. Maccelli put minimal weight on his leg as he was helped off the ice by two teammates.

Coach Peter DeBoer had no further update on either player after the game.

“That was probably our most complete game of the year and our smartest game of the year,” DeBoer said. “I told the group, after the second period I thought we managed the game really well.”

Sergei Bobrovsky made 16 saves for the Maple Leafs (3-4-2), who are 1-2-2 in their past five games.

Toronto was without forward John Tavares, who is week to week with a lower-body injury he sustained in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

“Get on the inside and throw some pucks there,” Toronto coach Jim Hiller said. “They played a good game, it didn’t surprise us at all. In a game like that, with Sorokin in goal and some big strong defensemen, you have got to get inside and you’ve got to get some pucks around there and try to create some chaos. We did it two or three times, one was a goal, one was a really good chance on a deflection from Darren Raddysh, and after that we just didn’t do it. We just didn’t do it enough. You are not going to score on the perimeter with this team.”

Anthony Duclair put the Islanders ahead 1-0 at 8:18 of the first period. He took a backhand pass from Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was along the right boards, stepped to his left on Nick Paul in the slot, and beat Bobrovsky low to the glove side.

Horvat made it 2-0 at 18:33 of the second period, putting in a rebound in the slot after Bobrovsky made a right pad save on Kyle Palmieri.

“Just a great forecheck from everybody, Holmstrom getting in there and myself just trying to seal the wall and get to the middle as quickly as possible,” Horvat said. “Palmieri just threw it in front and I just had to follow up the rebound.”

Colton Sissons cut it to 2-1 at 3:54 of the third period with a redirection of Troy Stecher's one-timer from the right point.

“They played hard. I thought they did a good job of keeping us on the outside, and I think we passed up on a lot of shots today, too, and just kind of made it a little easier on them,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said. “They played really well, they played hard, but I thought too much on the perimeter.”

Holmstrom pushed the lead to 3-1 at 14:08, taking a pass from Horvat and shooting past Bobrovsky’s glove from the slot. He then scored into an empty net at 17:55 for the 4-1 final.

“It was a big win for us, a great team effort,” Holmstrom said. “I thought everyone played unbelievable out there. We were fighting for each other and we were able to get the two points."

New York was outshot by Toronto 13-3 in the third period.

“We knew they were going to come out with a lot of speed and pressure, and we were able to kill off those two penalties (early in the third)," Holmstrom said. "I thought we got better and better and kind of killed their momentum, and then we were able to get one late as well.”

The Islanders finished the game 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. They are eighth in the NHL this season on the penalty kill at 86.7 percent (26-for-30).

“Bob Boughner does a good job with it,” DeBoer said. “He had a good penalty kill last year. They’re detailed, well-coached, and we have some guys that have very good penalty kill instincts out there, particularly Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock.”

NOTES: Matthews and Maple Leafs forward Kirill Marchenko each had his six-game point streak end.