Leafs' run-and-gun rookies taught tough lesson by Islanders
Toronto gets 5 goals from 1st-year players, but team gives up 6
After climbing back from a two-goal deficit, the New York Islanders didn't get deflated when Toronto regained the lead late in regulation.
They simply found a way to post another big home win.
Brock Nelson's second goal of the game at 2:42 of overtime lifted the Islanders to a 6-5 victory over the Maple Leafs on Monday night.
Trailing 5-4 late in the third period, the Islanders pulled goalie Thomas Greiss and tied it on Andrew Ladd's deflection with 1:29 left.
"We did a good job staying in the game," Nelson said. "There was never doubt in here. We never got down."
Josh Bailey had a goal and two assists, Ryan Strome contributed a goal and an assist, and Nikolay Kulemin also scored for the Islanders. New York stopped a two-game skid and improved to 6-0-2 in its last eight at home.
Ladd forces OT
On the winning goal, Nelson got a pass from Bailey and beat Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen on the blocker side. That gave the Islanders their first win this season in a game they trailed after two periods (1-12-2).
William Nylander, who had his first career hat trick in a win at Boston on Saturday night, had given Toronto a 5-4 lead with 2:01 left in regulation when took a pass from Morgan Rielly and beat Greiss on the blocker side.
Ladd tied it with his 12th goal just 32 seconds later.
"The air kind of came out of us when they got their fifth for a quick second, but the bench got right back at it," Islanders interim coach Doug Weight said. "There's a lot of belief on the bench right now, they feel good about themselves and when you can find ways to win games like this, it's crucial."
Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, Nikita Soshnikov and Zach Hyman also scored for Toronto, which finished 2-4-0 on a season-high six-game trip. Rielly had three assists.
Five <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs">@MapleLeafs</a> rookies (Hyman, Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Soshnikov) scored in the same game for the first time in franchise history. <a href="https://t.co/zwAHMojrmn">pic.twitter.com/zwAHMojrmn</a>
—@PR_NHL"We have to be better around the net," Andersen said. "They were getting to loose pucks too early. We have to be better at bearing down and getting pucks out of there."
Gained energy
The Islanders fell behind 4-2 midway through the second period before Nelson cut the deficit in half with his 12th of the season. He got a pass from Strome from behind the net and chipped it past Andersen from the left side.
"We got better as the game went on," Weight said. "We were a step behind a little bit on the forecheck and we were letting them dictate a lot early, and then I think we kind of just got a little [angry] and we got charged up ... and we seemed to gain some energy."
Bailey tied it with 6 1/2 minutes. It marked the third straight game the Islanders evened it after trailing 4-3 going into the third period.
They lost 5-4 at Detroit on Friday night, and then by the same score in overtime at home against Carolina on Saturday.
"We try to preach that no matter what happens in a game, we are resilient," Ladd said.
Marner put the Maple Leafs ahead 3-2 in the second period with his 14th goal at 5:12. Hyman got his third short-handed goal of the season at 9:34, bringing the puck up the left side and firing it past Greiss' blocker for his eighth.