Matthews scores twice to lead Leafs over Islanders
TORONTO -- Auston Matthews scored two goals, Josh Leivo had a goal and two assists, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Islanders 7-1 Tuesday night.
Nazem Kadri and William Nylander each had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who completed a four-game homestand with a 2-1-1 record. Tyler Bozak and Matt Hunwick also scored for Toronto (26-18-11).
Jason Chimera scored on a penalty shot for the Islanders (25-20-10), who are 8-3-2 since Doug Weight replaced Jack Capuano as coach on Jan. 17.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen made 33 saves for the Maple Leafs. Thomas Greiss made 28 stops in the Islanders' net before being replaced by Jean-Francois Berube after the sixth Toronto goal. Berube stopped six of the seven shots he faced.
It was the first win for the Maple Leafs in three games against the Islanders this season.
Toronto scored the first three goals of the game and led 3-1 entering the third period.
Matthews scored his first goal of the game on a rebound during a power play at 5:41 of the third period with Nikolay Kulemin serving a hooking penalty.
Toronto led 5-1 after Bozak scored his 14th goal of the season, converting a pass to the front of the net by James van Riemsdyk.
Matthews scored his second goal of the game and his 27th of the season from the slot at 11:51 of the third.
Hunwick scored his first goal of the season on a deflected shot at 15:40 of the third.
Leivo scored his first goal of the season (unassisted) from the left circle at 11:36 of the first period to put Toronto into a 1-0 lead. The goal came after a giveaway by Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech. Leivo was playing his fifth game for Toronto this season after missing the first 25 with an injury.
The Maple Leafs took a 2-0 lead at 19:28 of the first on Kadri's 21st goal of the season, nudging home the puck after a shot by defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.
Nylander knocked in a rebound from Kadri's shot for his 15th goal of the season to give Toronto a 3-0 lead at 9:26 of the second period.
The Islanders scored on a penalty shot by Chimera after it had been ruled that he was impeded on a breakaway at 16:55 of the second. It was Chimera's 14th goal of the season.
NOTES: Islanders RW Cal Clutterbuck (lower-body injury) missed his sixth straight game. ... Maple Leafs RW Nikita Soshnikov (upper-body injury) did not play in his third straight game. ... The Islanders won the first two meetings this season in Brooklyn 5-1 on Oct. 30 and 6-5 in overtime Feb. 6. ... The Islanders are on a nine-game point streak at home, going 7-0-2 during that span and outscoring their opponents 34-21. It is their longest home point streak in a season since 2003-04, when they had a 6-0-3 run. ... The Maple Leafs visit Columbus on Wednesday with former Blue Jackets G Curtis McElhinney expected to start. ... The Islanders play the New York Rangers on Thursday at Barclays Center.