Jim Hiller Cites ‘Lack Of Fortitude’ As Maple Leafs Drop Third Straight Game In Loss To Islanders

The Toronto Maple Leafs controlled the shot count and the expected-goals race against a depleted New York Islanders team, yet still found themselves on the wrong side of a 4-1 final Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena. Leafs coach Jim Hiller did not mince words afterward about why the result felt so hollow.

“They could have their full lineup in there, and our lack of fortitude to get to the inside makes it disappointing in any case,” Hiller said of an Islanders group that lost two forwards to injury early and still kept Toronto largely on the outside. “You’re not going to score on the perimeter against this team.”

Anthony Duclair opened the scoring at 8:18 of the first period, taking a feed from Jean-Gabriel Pageau in the slot and beating Sergei Bobrovsky. Bo Horvat doubled the lead late in the second on a rebound from Kyle Palmieri at 18:33. Colton Sissons cut the deficit to one at 3:54 of the third, tipping Troy Stecher’s point shot with Easton Cowan picking up the secondary assist. Simon Holmstrom restored the two-goal cushion at 14:08 and sealed it with an empty-netter at 17:55. Ilya Sorokin finished with 28 saves on 29 shots. Bobrovsky stopped 16 of the 19 he faced before the empty net.

The underlying numbers told a story of missed opportunity rather than dominance by the visitors. Toronto outshot New York 29-20, with a 13-3 edge in the third period, and generated roughly 3.34 expected goals to the Islanders’ 2.44 according to NaturalStatTrick.com. The high-danger chance margin also favored the Leafs. Yet New York converted at a 20 percent clip on its shots while Toronto managed one goal on 29. 

The Islanders played much of the night with only 10 forwards after Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli left in the first period with lower-body injuries.

The Leafs entered the night already short John Tavares (lower body, week-to-week) and Chris Tanev (upper body, week-to-week). That absence of depth made the lack of interior pressure more glaring. Hiller noted that Toronto created a couple of quality looks early, one of which produced the Sissons goal, another a strong deflection chance, then largely abandoned the approach. 

“We did it two or three times. One was a goal. One was a really good chance on the deflection… and we didn’t do it after that. We just didn’t do it enough.”

Auston Matthews shared the sentiment.

“I think we passed up on a lot of shots today too, and just kind of made it a little bit easier on them,” Matthews said. “Sometimes the best play is just shoot the puck and see what happens.” 

He called the power-play opportunities (0-for-3) a missed chance to seize momentum, noting that too often the Leafs allowed New York to clear the zone and create their own transitions. 

Looking ahead to Monday’s home game against a young, hungry opponent and then a road trip, Matthews said urgency is required, beginning with the leaders and veterans. 

“We’ve all got another level to show for. This is an important week of games.”

Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed three or more goals in all six of his starts with the Leafs this season and has a 1-3-2 record with an .891 save percentage. 

“We’ve really left him out to dry here in his last couple starts, and that’s on us,” Matthews said of Bobrovsky. “He’s doing his job. He’s making some big saves, and we’ve got to be better in that area.”

The top line of Jack Roslovic–Matthews–William Nylander produced only about 16.5 percent expected-goals share and zero high-danger chances. That is well below the standard expected from that group, particularly against a short-handed Islanders team, and it lined up with the visual of perimeter play and extra passes.

The result drops Toronto to 3-4-2. They have lost three straight and four of their last five, with a tough task coming up Monday against the San Jose Sharks. 

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