Islanders score six, surge past Maple Leafs in Tavares return

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- John Tavares' return to Nassau Coliseum was spoiled by the New York Islanders, who scored six unanswered goals to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 on Thursday.

Robin Lehner made 34 saves for the Islanders (37-19-7), who have outscored the Maple Leafs 10-1 in two games this season; they won 4-0 at Toronto on Dec. 29. New York moved two points ahead of the Washington Capitals, its opponent Friday, for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Tavares played his first nine seasons for the Islanders after they selected the center No. 1 in the 2009 NHL Draft. He was their captain from 2013-14 through last season before signing a seven-year, $77 million contract with Toronto on July 1.
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He was booed each time he touched the puck and was the target of various chants from the boisterous crowd throughout the game.
"Obviously I expected it was coming," Tavares said. "No one has walked in my shoes, I know that. I just tried to be open and honest.
"Obviously no one has to like my decision, but I just tried to explain what it is and how I got to that point. It is what it is. I made my decision. I've moved forward. Just trying to go out there and play."

Zach Hyman scored and Garret Sparks made 31 saves for Toronto (39-21-4), which had won three in a row. The Maple Leafs are three points behind the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.
"I thought the energy was spectacular in warmup and at the start of the game, the whole thing," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "You know, you must be a real special player and a real special person for them to honor you like that, because they only boo you if you were important. For most of us, they don't even know who we were. So what an honor that is, and I thought our team handled that really good.
"We played good, we started good. To me, the crowd had nothing to do with the outcome of the game. Our play with the puck through the neutral zone had everything to do with the outcome of the game, and in the end it cost us."
Hyman gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 13:33 of the first period when he backhanded a loose puck in front.
Anthony Beauvillier tied it 1-1 when he finished off a 3-on-1 by one-timing Josh Bailey's feed from the right circle at 16:16.

Anders Lee gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 4:49 of the second period when Brock Nelson drove past Andreas Johnsson on the right wing and backhanded a pass to Lee in the slot.
"It was obviously crazy," said Lee, who replaced Tavares as Islanders captain this season. "A lot of energy in the building right from the get-go, right from warmups. It's easy as a player to feed off it."
Hyman had a second goal taken away at 7:12 of the second when the Islanders successfully challenged for offside.
Casey Cizikas made it 3-1 on a shorthanded breakaway at 13:40, and Valtteri Filppula made it 4-1 with 1:00 left in the period.
"They did a great job," Cizikas said of the fans. "It's never easy coming into this building when they're in full force like that. That's why you [want] home-ice, it's for reasons like that."

Nick Leddy made it 5-1 at 33 seconds of the third period, and Nelson scored his 20th of the season at 8:41 for the 6-1 final.
The Islanders honored Tavares during a TV timeout midway through the first period to a chorus of boos. He clapped his hands and waved to the crowd at the conclusion.
"They've always made it tough on the opponent," said Tavares, who had five shots in 17:00. "When I played here, they always made it tough on people coming in and playing here.
"The tribute was nice, especially from the organization and the acknowledgement from the guys on the other bench. It's nice to give a token of appreciation for my nine years here, everyone that supported me, obviously the organization and the guys on the bench."

They said it

"At this point in the season where they are, there is no secret they're having a great season and a lot of credit goes to them. We have to play better next time than we did today." -- Maple Leafs center John Tavares
"I can't believe it. One of the coolest moments of my life. I'm just going to remember this for a long time. I know it's just regular season and all that stuff, but just the way we came out and played … I'm really, really happy with that. This is how we play." -- Islanders goalie Robin Lehner

Need to know

It was Toronto's seventh loss in 33 games this season when scoring first (26-6-1). … Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk missed the start of the third period after taking a skate blade to his neck from Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner in the second. "We could have seen something really ugly tonight," New York coach Barry Trotz said.

What's next

Maple Leafs:Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN1, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Islanders:Host the Washington Capitals on Friday (Nassau Coliseum; 7 p.m. ET; MSG+, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV)