Maple Leafs earn first win under Jim Hiller, top Islanders 2-1 at Scotiabank Arena

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs earned their first victory under head coach Jim Hiller, skating to a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. The result improved Toronto to 1-1-0 following a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in its season opener on Tuesday, while New York fell to 0-1-0.

Easton Cowan registered a goal and an assist for Toronto. Colton Sissons scored the first Maple Leafs goal of the night, and Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves to hold off the Islanders. For New York, Ilya Sorokin finished with 24 saves, and Emil Heineman scored a short-handed goal that pulled the Islanders within one late in the third period.

Toronto’s power play and penalty kill helped determine the outcome. The Maple Leafs went 1-for-4 with the man advantage, while also going 4-for-4 on the penalty kill to prevent the Islanders from tying the game in any of their regulation power plays.

Sissons gave Toronto the early advantage at 7:14 of the first period. He took part in a two-man attacking sequence that began with Cowan carrying the puck out of the corner. Cowan then fed Nick Paul, and Paul’s shot from the slot was redirected by Sissons at the top of the crease to put the Maple Leafs ahead.

Toronto doubled its lead during a power play at 11:55 of the first period to make it 2-0. The play featured Morgan Rielly knocking down a waist-high clearing attempt at the blue line before finding Jack Roslovic at the left face-off dot. Roslovic’s shot created a rebound off Sorokin’s left pad, and Cowan followed up by jamming the puck in near the right post to extend Toronto’s margin.

The Maple Leafs carried the two-goal lead into the latter stages of the game, but Stolarz preserved it when New York pressed in the third period. At 6:42, Stolarz made a key save by reaching back with his right pad to stop Anthony Duclair’s shot from the side of the net, keeping Toronto in front by two.

New York finally cut into the deficit at 14:09 of the third period with Emil Heineman’s short-handed goal. Heineman beat William Nylander down the ice, received a saucer pass from Bo Horvat, and chipped the puck past Stolarz, turning a penalty-kill situation into a scoring chance and bringing the Islanders within one.

Despite Heineman’s goal, the Maple Leafs maintained their lead through the remainder of regulation. Toronto’s penalty kill earlier in the game had kept New York from creating an extended series of power-play scoring opportunities, and Sorokin finished the night with 24 saves as Toronto protected its advantage after the short-handed tally.

With the victory, Toronto’s record under Jim Hiller began with a win at home, while the Islanders will look to respond after dropping their opening game of the season.