Auston Matthews Scores Two and Inches Closer to History Books, But Islanders Come Back and Defeat Maple Leafs in Overtime
Toronto was up 3-1 before the Islanders came storming back, scoring three straight goals to win the game.
The Maple Leafs are sailing out of Long Island with another overtime loss.
It was Star Wars night on Thursday inside UBS Arena, and after a trio of goals from who Islanders fans would call the dark side in nearly 10 minutes, the light side pushed through, ultimately winning the game in extra time.
A positive, though, for Toronto is they get another point. That's the sixth time in the last seven games that they've left the building with a tally on their scorecard.
It wasn't the best start for Toronto as Auston Matthews took a tripping penalty 31 seconds into the game.
Kyle Palmeri scored nine seconds later, putting the Islanders up 1-0.
Just over 10 minutes later, the Maple Leafs fourth line did some great work, resulting in a goal. TJ Brodie attempted to get the puck deep, and luckily, it fell right onto the stick of Noah Gregor. He then fed Bobby McMann a pass, and the 27-year-old finished it for his second goal in 18 games this season.
The early-period goals would continue coming in the second. This time, Toronto got on the board at the beginning of the frame.
Auston Matthews finds the loose puck in one of his many offices and dances it around Ilya Sorokin for his 32nd goal of the season. While the 26-year-old has one of the best shots in the NHL, he is also very dangerous around the front of the net. He highlights it on this goal.
Not even three minutes later, it's Matthews again. This time, the assist comes from locker-room favorite Pontus Holmberg, who creates the turnover for Matthews. He then takes it and tucks it into the back of the net to put Toronto up 3-1.
That's points in back-to-back games for Holmberg. Both points have also come with only one hand on his stick.
Matthews' incredible goal run continues, with that being his 33rd in 38 games this season. The 26-year-old also has 19 goals in the last 17 games.
It's also his 332nd career goal, which ties him with Ron Ellis for the most in Maple Leafs' history. It's also his 70th multi-goal game, putting him one back of Darryl Sittler, who has 71, for most all-time in Toronto.
The fun, though, wouldn't last long for Toronto.
Under two minutes after Matthews' goal, New York would have some offensive zone time, and Alex Romanov would receive a drop pass from Mathew Barzal before beating Martin Jones.
It was just a great shot at the end of the day. I'm not sure Jones was expecting someone like Romanov to fire off something like that.
One thing the Maple Leafs have done well as of late is not allow any team to come back into games. Toronto has won three of their last four games by three goals or more.
However, after a Timothy Liljegren penalty, New York would get on the board again.
Mark Giordano has a chance to clear the puck but cannot get it above the blue line. The Islanders would capitalize as Noah Dobson's point shot gets tipped in by Bo Horvat to tie the game at three.
There'd be no goals in the third period, meaning free (overtime) hockey for everyone. It would be Toronto's 16th overtime of the season, which is the most in the NHL.
And following a defensive zone faceoff, Barzal would score as he beat Jake McCabe to the front of the net.
With a loss on Thursday night, the Maple Leafs fall to 21-10-8 on the season. Their next two games are back-to-back at home this weekend against the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings.
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