Pierre Engvall's late goal leads Islanders to season sweep of Maple Leafs
Islanders' Pierre Engvall (18) scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) during third-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Credit: AP/Frank Gunn
TORONTO — Patrick Roy went into the All-Star break praising the progress he’d seen in the Islanders in his four games behind their bench, even if the wins weren’t coming.
The coach was even happier coming out of the eight-day hiatus as the Islanders snapped a three-game losing streak with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena, with defensemen Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech returning from injuries.
Former Maple Leaf Pierre Engvall, in his first game back in Toronto, scored the winner on a rebound at 17:58 of the third period after former Islander John Tavares tied the score on a power-play deflection at 15:12. And rookie Kyle MacLean notched his first NHL point with a second-period breakaway backhander.
“What I love the most is they scored that power-play goal to tie the game and our mindset was, ‘Let’s go get the next one,’ ” Roy said. “To see our guys stay in the present moment and be able to not change our game because we gave up a goal. All night, we played well defensively. We were quick on them.”
The Islanders (21-17-12), who moved within two points of a playoff spot behind the third-place Flyers in the Metropolitan Division, swept the season series from the Maple Leafs (25-15-8) for the first time since 1989-90.
“The last two minutes was hard for us,” said Ilya Sorokin, who made seven of his 35 saves after counterpart Ilya Samsonov (26 saves) was pulled for an extra skater with the Maple Leafs looking to tie.
Sorokin kicked away Auston Matthews’ close-range shot at 9:27 of the third period. Matthews, who has a league-high 40 goals, also took a shot in the opening minute of the third period that hit the left post and then the crossbar but stayed out.
“Luck was on our side,” Sorokin said.
A little luck, but a huge contribution from Pulock and Pelech in their return.
Pulock, who missed 24 games with a lower-body injury, logged 20:15 with two shots and two blocked shots. Pelech played 20:49 with three shots and three blocked shots.
Pelech, sidelined 21 games last season with a head injury, wound up missing only one game after an illegal hit to the head from the Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher, who was suspended for five games.
Roy reunited the pair — making their returns more comfortable — after they were separated last season when Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov were struggling defensively.
“Wow, what a performance from these two guys,” Roy said. “They were rock-solid and they were controlling the game.”
“They make a big difference back there,” said defenseman Scott Mayfield, who was in the middle of a scrum after the final buzzer with Tavares. “It’s nice to have them back and it’s a big win for us.”
All-Star Mathew Barzal opened the scoring at 10:31 of the first period, slipping into the slot to knock in the rebound of defenseman Mike Reilly’s shot off the post.
Defenseman Simon Benoit’s hard check on Barzal in the waning seconds of the Islanders’ second power play started a sequence in which the teams traded goals. Bo Horvat fought Benoit and drew an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct 43 seconds into the second period.
“He’s a leader on this team,” Roy said of Horvat. “In life, you could be an eagle or a duck. He was an eagle there.”
Mitchell Marner tied it at 1-1 from the right circle seven seconds later with the teams skating four-on-four.
But MacLean, serving Horvat’s minor, exited the penalty box and skated onto Cal Clutterbuck’s chip-out to make it 2-1 at 2:50.
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.
