The Toronto Maple Leafs cut loose on the Island, giving the puck away 12 times in a 4-3 OT loss to the New York Islanders. Auston Matthews scored twice, with Bobby McMann hitting the back of the net, too. The Islanders got goals from Palmieri, Romanov, Horvat, and Barzal in overtime.
Martin Jones stopped 27 of 31 shots on a night that looked worse on paper than it really was. Ilya Sorokin stopped 32 of 35 in the win.
Defensive giveaways were the name of this game, creating rush chances that eliminated the big shot quality advantage the Leafs were pulling on the Islanders.
Auston Matthews scored his 70th multi-goal game and now sits one behind Sits for the franchise record. He also scored his 332nd goal for the Leafs, putting him up into third place in franchise goals. The great Dave Keon sits at 365.
First Period
0-1
40 seconds into the game Matthews took a tripping penalty against Matt Martin, and Kyle Palmieri scored with the man advantage. He tipped and scored the rebound on Noah Dobson's point shot.
Mayfield clotheslined Knies going into the Islanders zone. I don't know why high hits like that are allowed. Knies set up a chance for Marner in front of the net a shirt cycle later.
These giveaways became a theme in the game, and ultimately led to a goal against later. Still shocked that we're relying on Jones.
1-1
Bobby McMann! The McMannimal took a sneaky pass from Noah Gregor and one-timed the shot past Sorokin. I'm really liking this third line with some offensive talent.
After One
The first period was mixed for the Leafs. On one hand, they greatly out-chanced the Islanders with 70% of the expected goals on ~50% shotshare. They were getting their offense close to the front of the net while keeping the Islanders back. On the other hand, they had six giveaways, leading to more shots and rush chances for the Islanders.
Second Period
Okay, so, Auston Matthews snapped to kick off the second period...
2-1
Matthews! First shift of the second period, Matthews took a pass on his left side from Marner and slipped all the way onto his backhand to beat Sorokin. Amazing hands in tight.
And this whole play kicked off with a Matthews puck battle win in the corner.
3-1
And again! Matthews' 70th multi-goal game in his career. One-handed Holmberg stole the puck from Dobson and fed Matthews going the other way. Auston found the five hole and the Leafs doubled their lead.
3-2
Soon after – a lengthy four minutes into the period – the Islanders got one back thanks to Romanov wiring a shot into the top corner from the right faceoff dot.
3-3
The Islanders tied it about 10 minutes later on the power play again when Giordano had his clearing attempt blocked and Dobson's point shot found the back of the net. There was some debate as to who scored the goal, and it ended up going to Bo Horvat instead of Dobson. Mike Johnson made a case it could be Palmieri, too.
After Two
Another good period for the Leafs where they scored twice, but their offense was negated through defensive mistakes. The Leafs got hemmed into their own zone several times in shifts that Matthews and Marner usually subject the other team to. Failed clears, missing assignments, and chasing before anticipating was a lot of the blame.
Third Period
One goal each in the first. Two goals each in the second. Will we see three goals each in the third? Nope, in fact we saw a scoreless period as the two teams went to overtime.
Both Nylander and Bertuzzi were caught puck-watching as Hudson Fasching swept past them for a big chance. Jones had to McElhinney it.
McCabe did bowl Anders Lee into the net, but that goal didn't count.
Overtime
3-4
Mat Barzal wins it on the first shot of overtime.