Anthony Beauvillier's OT goal gives Islanders victory over Maple Leafs
Islanders defenceman Noah Dobson and left wing Anthony Beauvillier celebrate after Beauvillier scored to defeat the Maple Leafs in overtime of an NHL game in Toronto on Monday, Credit: AP/Christopher Katsarov
TORONTO — It was a rather one-sided affair in terms of analytics.
Luckily for the Islanders, it’s the scoreboard that matters.
They snapped a two-game losing streak and ended a four-game road stretch by rallying for a 3-2 overtime win over the Maple Leafs on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
“Probably didn’t really deserve two points tonight,” said Anthony Beauvillier, who roofed a shot from the left circle for the winner at 1:56 of the extra period for his first goal in 11 games. “It’s one of those games where you’ve just got to be patient and you’ve got to bear down on your chances. That’s what we did. Wins are wins. When points come like that, we’ll definitely take it and get out of here.”
Josh Bailey, from nearby Bowmanville, Ontario, tied the score at 2-2 with a patient wrist shot from the right circle at 17:02 of the third period. It supported another brilliant performance by goalie Ilya Sorokin (30 saves).
Per Natural Stat Trick, the Islanders had just five high-danger chances to the Maple Leafs’ 12, while the Maple Leafs Corsi For was 56.12 compared with the Islanders’ 43.88. In the Maple Leafs’ two-goal second period, Toronto had a Corsi For of 64.71 and the Islanders were at 35.29.
“You know, I’ve never really cared much for the analytics,” Bailey said. “At the end of the day, it’s what happens on the scoreboard. Really, it’s just sticking with it. Sorokin was great for us as per usual and gave us a chance. I think we were all a little bit tired. We’ve been on the road for a little while. It’s part of playing in this league and you’ve just got to grind it out some nights.”
Bailey’s goal came eight minutes after an unlikely fight between Oliver Wahlstrom and Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin. Wahlstrom dumped Sandin just as he had leveled Auston Matthews coming across the Islanders’ blue line, precipitating the bout.
The Islanders (12-8-0) did outhit the Maple Leafs (10-5-5) by a whopping 51-21.
“I think the Wahlly fight helps,” said Cal Clutterbuck, who had nine hits and surpassed Dustin Brown to become the NHL’s all-time hits leader since the statistic started being kept in 2005-06. “The guy put in so much time this summer preparing himself for the season. To see him do that, it picks you up.”
“I thought he lifted the bench,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said.
The Islanders weathered the Maple Leafs’ early push — Toronto led 7-0 in shots at 4:45 of the first period — and took a 1-0 lead on defenseman Noah Dobson’s shot from the right point that deflected in off David Kampf at 15:21.
Former Islanders captain John Tavares, playing his 300th regular-season game with the Maple Leafs, tied the score at 1 with a power-play goal at 4:49 of the second period. It came just eight seconds after Alexander Romanov was called for cross-checking Calle Jarnkrok.
Matthews made it 2-1 at 14:06 of the second period, deflecting defenseman Timothy Lilegren’s shot from the right circle over Sorokin’s blocker. A minute earlier, Sorokin had gone into a split to use his left pad to rob Jarnkrok at the crease.
But the Islanders haveoutscored opponents 31-19 in the third period and are 3-0 in overtimes.
“I thought our guys responded in the third period again,” Lambert said. “Our goaltender played well. The big number is the one that’s on the scoreboard.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
