TORONTO — If the Islanders are going to struggle over the next nine weeks to make the playoffs, Monday was a pretty good start.
Patrick Roy said it’s playoff hockey from now on for the Islanders, and it certainly looked like that in their 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. The Isles won the season series by a landslide, earning two important points. Pierre Envall won the wild card rival late in regulation.
The Islanders currently trail Toronto and Detroit by four points in the wild-card race, and are just two points behind the Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
In other words, the race is on.
Just as importantly, Roy’s system adjustments appear to be progressing well.
After a week off, the Islanders returned for a clean performance on the road, cycling frequently and holding the puck for long periods against a strong Maple Leafs team.
But what was especially noteworthy was their defense as the Maple Leafs did the same thing.
For most of the season when the ice was tilted towards them, the Islanders settled for chip-and-change, playing one day to see and giving up the puck.
Here they looked for opportunities to attack and rarely iced the puck even as the Maple Leafs took shot after shot.
That mindset helped them take a 2-1 lead into the final period after a Toronto onslaught late in the second half.
So was the great play of Ilya Sorokin, who finished the night with 34 saves in the earned victory.
When Oliver Wahlstrom was whistled for interference with 5:40 left in the game, it looked like Toronto had its moment, but the script was all too familiar for the Islanders as they clung to a one-point lead. It was something.
That script really started to play out when John Tavares deflected a shot from Morgan Rielly from a well-placed spot to tie the game.
But the Islanders quickly turned it around.
Engvall, playing his first game back in Toronto since being traded 11 months ago, scored his first goal since Dec. 9 on a rebound from Brock Nelson with 2:02 left in the game for the game-winning goal. Ta.
That goal was much needed, both for a player whose season didn’t go as planned and for a team whose season didn’t go as planned.
And both Engvall and the Islanders will be hoping that will help get things back on track.
With a big boost from Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock returning to the lineup and playing together as a second pair, the Islanders haven’t started a game with a healthy defense since Pelech took over on Nov. 24. This will be the first time since Ottawa. And Sebastian Aho left early in the evening.
Combined with the two points in the standings, it was a night where everything seemed to be going well for a team that has rarely happened this season.
Matthew Barzal, on the same ice he skated in the All-Star Game over the weekend, put the Islanders ahead with a rebound off Mike Riley at 10:31 of the first inning.
It was just a perfect fit.
Mitch Marner went 4-for-4 50 seconds into the second period, beating Sorokin high on a faceoff to take the lead.
However, the Islanders fought back with Kyle MacLean darting out of the penalty area and backhanding past Ilya Samsonov just before the end of the same penalty as Marner’s goal.
It was MacLean’s first NHL goal, and he was able to celebrate with his father, John, who is still on the bench as an assistant coach.
It happened on a night when the Islanders had fallen to .500 (2 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw) since the coaching change and picked up their first road win under Roy.
The result was a good representation of the night.
And a much-needed result.
