Islanders Get DeBoer Bump, Hold Off Maple Leafs

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Part of the reason for the New York Islanders hiring Pete DeBoer this late in the season was the potential new-coach bump. Mission accomplished. The Islanders peppered 24 first-period shot on the beleaguered Toronto Maple Leafs net and snapped their four-game losing skid with a 5-3 win at UBS Arena on Thursday.

The Isles win, coupled with the Philadelphia Flyers’ loss in Detroit and the Columbus Blue Jackets’ loss in Buffalo pushed them past Columbus and one point behind Philadelphia for the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division. New York outshot Toronto 44-16, and five different Islanders scored, keyed by Matthew Schaefer ‘s 23rd which tied the NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenseman.

Calum Ritchie earned the game’s No. 1 star by putting up a goal and an assist. The Islanders Came Out Flying vs Toronto Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The Islanders had 16 shots in their 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday in their last game under Patrick Roy .

It took them 12:04 to record that number of shots against Artur Akhtyamov and the Maple Leafs on Thursday night. In a must-win game, against an opponent that had already been eliminated from playoff contention, the Isles posted their most shots in a first period in 18 years. New York outshot Toronto 24-3 in the first period and scored the game’s first two goals, first when Brayden Schenn scored just 128 seconds in and J-G Pageau struck at 4:55.