Maple Leafs 4, Islanders 3 (SO)
TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre on a goal by rookie right winger Nikita Soshnikov.
The Leafs, last in the National Hockey League, improved to 22-34-11. Center Zach Hyman, defenseman Morgan Rielly and center William Nylander scored the Leafs' goals in regulation.
Center John Tavares, defenseman Nick Leddy and center Ryan Strome scored the goals for the Islanders, who dropped to 38-20-9 on the season. They trail the New York Rangers, who are second in the Metropolitan Division, by two points. The Islanders have two games in hand.
Strome scored the apparent go-ahead goal at 14:41 of the third, outmuscling Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner and beating Leafs goalie Garret Sparks with a slow dribbler between the pads. Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk set up the goal with a pass from deep inside his team's side of the ice. But Strome was assessed a penalty shortly after and the Leafs capitalized on the opportunity with Nylander's goal.
Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss topped 32 of 35 regulation shots. Greiss will be handling the bulk of the Islanders' netminding for the next six weeks with Jaroslav Halak sidelined with a lower-body injury incurred the previous night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Greiss, a 30-year-old German-born player, signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Islanders in the offseason. He has bounced around the National Hockey League, playing for San Jose, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. The Islanders' investment in him had already paid dividends because he had a staunch 2.20 goals-against average in 29 games.
The Islanders, ranked first in the NHL in penalty killing, were able to stave off a double minor assessed to Kyle Okposo for high sticking at 6:04 of the third. But the Leafs blew the opportunity by taking a bench minor for too many men on the ice 72 seconds later.
Given that the Islanders had played the night before, they clearly looked weary in the third. The Leafs played Monday night at home, losing 4-3 to Buffalo in overtime. The Leafs concluded a four-game homestand with the game against the Islanders.
Leafs goalie Garret Sparks stopped 24 of 27 Islanders' shots.
The teams were tied 2-2 after two periods.
Tavares opened the scoring at 8:08 of the first period, pouncing on a loose puck and beating Sparks. The lanky netminder made the initial stop, but Tavares tapped in the rebound for his 25th goal of the season.
The Maple Leafs tied it on Hyman's goal, his second in as many games, knocking in a rebound just in front of Greiss at 11:27.
Hyman, a young center who is one of several rookies called up from the American Hockey League, has received praise from Toronto coach Mike Babcock for his goals in close.
The Maple Leafs took a 2-1 lead at 10:45 in the second period on Rielly's power-play goal.
The heady defenseman spotted center Nazem Kadri breaking loose from the penalty box and executed a textbook stretch pass. Kadri held on to the puck and waited for Rielly to come up ice. He scored on a snap shot from just inside the blue line for his seventh goal of the season.
But the Islanders replied quickly with Leddy's goal, his fifth of the season, at 12:54. Leddy, whose goal was unassisted, has been on a tear, entering the game with 16 points in his last 17 games.
Sparks made his second start in as many games. He is trying to impress the Toronto coaching staff.
NOTES: G Jaroslav Halak, who left late in the Islanders' 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, is sidelined for six weeks with a lower-body injury. G Jean-Francois Berube was called up as a replacement. ... The Islanders' injury list includes C Mikhail Grabovski (upper body), D Calvin de Haan (lower body), D Adam Pelech (upper body) and D Marek Zidlicky (day to day). ... Maple Leafs RW P.A. Parenteau, who played two seasons for the Islanders, returned to the lineup after missing five games with a neck injury. He was rumored to be involved in a possible deal with the Islanders before the trade deadline. ... The Maple Leafs recalled D T.J. Brennan on an emergency basis. He is third in the American Hockey League among defensemen with 55 points. Brennan was recalled because D Victor Loov, who had been called up from the Marlies on Tuesday, was injured in practice. Loov had replaced D Matt Hunwick, who is sidelined for the season with a sports hernia. LW Joffrey Lupul is out with the same injury.