Offense dries up for struggling Islanders in loss to Maple Leafs
TORONTO -- David Kampf, Steven Lorentz and John Tavares scored as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday to move into a tie with idle Florida for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Joseph Woll made 30 saves for Toronto (23-13-2).
Jean-Gabriel Pageau score for the Islanders (14-17-7). Ilya Sorokin finished with 22 saves. New York has lost six of its last nine games.
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews sat for a fifth straight game. He was placed on injured reserve earlier Tuesday in a move retroactive to Dec. 20 that allowed Toronto to recall defenseman Marshall Rifai.
The Maple Leafs said Matthews, who returned to practice on Monday, had not experienced any setbacks with his upper-body injury.
Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson sat out due to illness. Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom was a late scratch with an upper-body injury.
TAKEAWAYS
Maple Leafs: Woll appeared to be in some mild discomfort after a goalmouth scramble early in the second period, but stayed in the game. He missed the first few weeks of the season with a groin issue.
Islanders: Special teams continue to be a problem. New York, which entered with a league-worst power-play percentage of 11.5, was 0 for 1 with the man advantage.
KEY MOMENT
Defenseman Chris Tanev blocked a shot in his own end and guided the ensuing breakout that led to Toronto's first goal.
KEY STAT
The Maple Leafs are 2-3-0 during their Matthews' latest absence. Toronto was 7-2-0 without Matthews in the lineup in November.
UP NEXT
The Islanders host the Maple Leafs in the second game of a home-and-home series on Thursday.
