New York Islanders win over Toronto Maple Leafs proves one thing

The New York Islanders pulled off a huge win over a tired Toronto Maple Leafs club that simply ran out of steam down the stretch.

The Leafs were playing without captain Auston Matthews who was a late scratch after re-aggravating an upper-body injury in the game against the Buffalo Sabres the night before.

But that wasn’t the reason why the New York Islanders jumped out to a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. And, that wasn’t the reason why the Islanders got a huge 6-3 win.

The big reason, as pointed out during the telecast, was the fact that neither side took a penalty in the game. The entire matchup was played 5-on-5. That occurrence is quite rare in the NHL, especially when considering the crackdown on all sorts of penalties in recent years.

So, the win, while impressive in many ways, highlighted the fact that the New York Islanders are terrible on special teams. They are among the best 5-on-5. But when it comes to playing on the power play or killing penalties, they are unable to make headway.

Saturday night’s game in Toronto, however, proved the Islanders focus their efforts much better when playing at even strength. Sure, it helped to catch the Leafs flat-footed. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Isles played to their strengths and won a big game.

Now, the Isles are tied with the New York Rangers for sixth in the Metro Division. The isles are two points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for fourth, meaning they are hardly out of the playoff picture.

The Islanders have one more game against the struggling Buffalo Sabres before off on the Christmas break. The Isles have a unique opportunity to see Santa Claus riding a two-game winning streak.

New York Islanders locked the game down in the third period

 The New York Islanders took a 5-2 lead into the second intermission, seemingly in control of the game. But when Toronto made it 5-3 in the third, almost instantly thoughts of “here we go again,” came to mind.

But that was not the case on Saturday night in Toronto. The Islanders put the clamps on the game, locking down the victory with an empty-netter in the final minutes.

While the Leafs pushed to tie the game, their efforts were futile. The Islanders played with a level of desperation and grit we haven’t seen too often this season. Perhaps it’s struck the team that now is the time to push. Otherwise, losing any more points could put the coffin in the Isles’ season.

Perhaps it was also the bump plenty of teams get when playing the Leafs. Virtually every team in the NHL relishes beating up on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In reality, it was a little bit of everything. The Islanders looked like a team on a mission. Anthony Duclair looked good. Mathew Barzal was lying. Bo Horvat looked like he’d exorcised the demons around him. The defense looked comfortable.

If the Isles can string a few games like Saturday night’s contest, 2025 could usher plenty of good things for the Islanders.