Maple Leafs edge Islanders to give Hiller 1st win

TORONTO -- Easton Cowan had a goal and an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who got their first win under coach Jim Hiller with a 2-1 victory against the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

“I felt good. Our line was clicking,” Cowan said. “As soon as you got all four lines going, everyone is laughing and having fun, which is good, and we were all working hard, so it was a great team win.”

Colton Sissons also scored, and Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves for the Maple Leafs (1-1-0), who lost their season opener 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

Toronto went 1-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, including 2-for-2 in the third period.

“It was great to see that type of a win,” said Hiller, who was hired to replace Craig Berube on June 17. “You like to see the easy ones, trust me, when you are standing behind the bench, but you appreciate the hardness, the blocked shots, the desperation at the end. Those always feel pretty good, too.”

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves, and Emil Heineman scored a short-handed goal for the Islanders (0-1-0).

"I loved our start,” New York coach Peter DeBoer said. “Loved the first 10 minutes of the game. Then we took a couple of penalties, which kind of took our momentum away, gave them some momentum. But even at the end of the first, you got a power-play goal and a broken stick goal, basically. So, I thought they found a way to stick those in the net, which put us in a hole, but we came back. We battled the entire 60 minutes. There's lots of things to work on, lots of things I liked. It's hard to win on the road in this league, and especially when you put yourself in a 2-0 hole."

The Islanders outshot the Maple Leafs 4-0 before Nick Paul put Toronto’s first attempt on net at 7:04 of the first period.

Sissons then gave the Toronto a 1-0 lead just 10 seconds later. Cowan carried the puck out of the corner and fed Paul, whose shot from the slot was redirected by Sissons at the top of the crease.

“I just liked our line’s energy to start with,” Sissons said. “We were turning pucks over, getting to work, and it was just a great play by Paul to see me coming through the back door. So, great play by him.”

The Maple Leafs extended their lead to 2-0 while on a power play at 11:55. Morgan Rielly knocked down a waist-high clearing attempt at the blue line before finding Jack Roslovic at the left face-off dot. Roslovic's shot then produced a rebound off Sorokin's left pad, which Cowan jammed in near the right post.

“That was just a skilled guy making a skilled play,” Stolarz said. “And kudos to Roslovic after Rielly got it to him, and he shoots for that POP (pass off pad), and it goes back to the selflessness. I think guys are understanding that we can create some offense. You may not get the goal, but you’re going to get a nice assist, and kudos to Cowan just standing right there. Right place at the right time.”

Cowan is beginning his second full NHL season after playing in 66 games (11 goals, 18 assists) in 2025-26. The 21-year-old also played for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League playoffs last season, putting up 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 22 games to help them win the Calder Cup.

“It did a lot (for me),” Cowan said. “Anytime you are playing pro in the playoffs, it helps a lot. So, I have a lot of confidence heading into this year, and it was great to get that win, for sure.”

Stolarz kept it a two-goal game at 6:38 of the third period when he reached back with his right pad to stop Anthony Duclair’s shot from the side of the net.

“Probably a half scorpion-type save,” Stolarz said. “He just kept dragging it and dragging it and you’re just trying to do whatever it takes to make that save.”

Heineman did cut it to 2-1 with his short-handed goal at 14:09. He beat William Nylander down the ice, received a saucer pass from Bo Horvat, and chipped the puck past Stolarz.

"When we stopped turning pucks over and simplified our game a lot and got pucks behind them and started going to work, we were a lot more successful," Horvat said.

NOTES: The game featured the first matchup between the past two No. 1 picks in the NHL Draft: Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (2025) and Maple Leafs forward Gavin McKenna (2026). Schaefer had three shots while playing a game-high 27:45. McKenna had one shot in 15:32.