The Toronto Maple Leafs' losing run reached three games on Saturday night, beaten 4-1 by the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena in a game that stayed within reach until the final minutes.
Anthony Duclair opened the scoring 8:18 into the first period, finishing a Jean-Gabriel Pageau feed from the slot, and Bo Horvat doubled the lead late in the second by chipping in a rebound after Sergei Bobrovsky's initial save on Kyle Palmieri. Colton Sissons gave Toronto hope 3:54 into the third, redirecting a Troy Stecher one-timer to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The comeback ended there. Horvat set up Simon Holmstrom at 14:08 of the third, and Holmstrom added an empty-net goal at 17:55 to seal New York's first road win of the season. Ilya Sorokin finished with 28 saves for the Islanders, while Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots for Toronto.
Toronto played without John Tavares, who is week to week with a lower-body injury, and has now allowed three or more goals in seven straight games. The Islanders lost forwards Matias Maccelli and Calum Ritchie to first-period injuries. The Leafs close their homestand Monday against San Jose.
