The New York Islanders secured their first road win of the season with a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Anthony Duclair and Bo Horvat put the Islanders up 2-0 after 40 minutes and Simon Holmstrom secured the win with a pair of goals in the game’s final six minutes as New York improved to 1-2-1 away from home.
Horvat added an assist on Holmstrom’s first goal and Ilya Sorokin continued his hot start, turning away 28 shots in his fourth win of the season. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 of 19 shots for Toronto, which got a goal from Colton Sissons.
Duclair opened the scoring 8:18 into the game. Jean-Gabriel Pageau pursued Toronto’s Kirill Marchenko behind the net, recovered possession along the sideboards and fed Duclair in the slot, who placed his shot under the arm of Bobrovsky for his second of the year.
Bobrovsky slid across the crease to deny Kyle Palmieri with a minute and a half left in the second, but Horvat chipped in the rebound between Bobrovsky and a sprawling Troy Stecher to make it 2-0. Both teams combined for just 12 shots in the middle frame.
Sissons brought Toronto within a goal 3:54 into the third period, tipping in Stecher’s low one-timer from the point. Both of Sissons’ goals on the season have come against the Islanders.
Little more than 10 minutes later, Horvat fed the puck to Holmstrom, who ripped the puck past Bobrovsky from the slot and halted a late offensive surge from the home team. Holmstrom followed up with an empty netter with just over two minutes remaining.
With John Tavares out week-to-week (lower-body injury), Nick Paul slotted in at center on the Maple Leafs’ second line.
Islanders forwards Matias Maccelli and Calum Ritchie both left the game with injuries in the first period. New York’s forward corps may be stretched even thinner in the ongoing absence of Mathew Barzal.
Toronto has allowed three goals or more in seven consecutive games and has lost three straight.