TORONTO — This could be a point the Islanders regret not having if their bid for a playoff spot falls short.
Tyler Bozak scored the shootout winner and the Maple Leafs rallied past the Islanders 4-3 on Thursday night. Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock acknowledged his team didn’t play very well Thursday night, and his players know things could become much more difficult if they have to deal with another injury absence for Auston Matthews.
Matthews tipped in Jake Gardiner’s shot to tie it 3-all with 3:29 remaining in the third period, but exited with 1:06 to go in regulation favoring his right shoulder after being sandwiched by Adam Pelech and Cal Clutterbuck. The 20-year-old Toronto star missed six games in December with a concussion and another four games with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
“Clearly he’s a big part of our team and going down the stretch we’re going to need him, so hopefully it’s not too bad,” teammate Nazem Kadri said.
Ryan Pulock, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders (29-26-7), and Halak turned aside 28 shots. The Islanders, tied with Columbus for the second Eastern Conference wild card, dropped to 4-6-2 since the All-Star break and 13-15-3 on the road this season.
With his three points, Barzal has a team-leading 65 and a 14-point lead over Brock Boeser of the Canucks in the NHL’s rookie scoring race.
Barzal has eight games with three or more points this season, one shy of Bryan Trottier’s franchise rookie record.
“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t score (in overtime). It’s unfortunate to lose that extra point,” Barzal said. “We weren’t shy to push the pace early. (Clutterbuck) and (Casey Cizikas) finishing checks early kind of set the tone for the rest of us. I thought we played a pretty good game.”
Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly had the other Maple Leafs goals, and Frederik Andersen made 32 saves. Toronto (38-20-5) has won eight straight at home.
Pulock opened the scoring at 8:39 of the first period, one-timing Thomas Hickey’s feed past Andersen, who appeared out of position on the play after Eberle bumped into him. Barzal picked up the secondary assist.
The Islanders’ rookie then doubled New York’s lead, backhanding the rebound of Anthony Beauvillier’s shot past Andersen for his 13th goal at 11:48.
Marner got the Maple Leafs on the board at 17:39. After picking up a feed from Nazem Kadri, he showed patience while waiting for Halak to make the first move and then beat the goaltender between the pads for his 15th of the season. The goal gave Marner 10 in his last 16 games.
Moments after the Islanders hit the post twice, Rielly tied it at 2 after taking Connor Brown’s pass and beating Halak high on the glove side for his sixth of the season at 1:28 of the third.
The Islanders responded 99 seconds later as Eberle’s centering pass redirected off Nikita Zaitsev’s skate and past Andersen. Barzal got the primary assist on Eberle’s 21st of the season.