Toronto Maple Leafs defeat New York Islanders 5-3
Nikolai Kulemin and Fredrik Sjostrom both lit the lamp in the final stanza to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-3 victory against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday night.
Tomas Kaberle potted a goal while Colby Armstrong had a goal and two assists for Toronto, who have won four of their previous five games. Jay Rosehill also netted a goal and James Reimer turned away 31 shots for the victors.
Michael Grabner and Rob Schremp each found the back of the net for New York, who have rotated losses and victories during the previous five contests. Matt Moulson also added a goal in the losing effort. Mikko Koskinen made his National Hockey League (NHL)
debut between the pipes for the Islanders, stopping 21-of-26 shots.
Toronto’s first shot on Koskinen found the back of the net just 90 seconds into the opening frame. The goal was set up when Darryl Boyce threw the puck to Armstrong, who rushed unchallenged into the right circle and fired a shot past the netminder's glove.
The second shot on the young goalie was as good as the first and gave Toronto a 2-0 edge just six and a half minutes into the first period. New York were unable to grab the puck out of the zone, as Luke Schenn controlled the puck to keep it in and blasted
a shot from the top of the right circle. Rosehill redirected it past Koskinen for his first goal of the 2010-11 season.
The Islanders then started their comeback by cutting the deficit in half at 2-1, thanks to a man advantage tally just after the midway point of the first period. John Tavares flipped a backhander toward the slot from the left corner, where Moulson easily
tapped it home for his team-leading 19th goal.
Koskinen had an opportunity to show off his skills in the middle session, as he first blocked Clarke MacArthur’s quick shot during a 2-on-1 break, and then made a lunging glove grab off Armstrong’s shot.
New York registered the lone goal of the second period to tie the game at 2-2, as Grabner gathered a rebound and snapped a shot in from the doorstep with nearly five minutes left in the second period.
The Maple Leafs snapped the deadlock to make it a 3-2 game with nearly two and a half minutes left in the second period. Armstrong set up the play, as he chipped a cross-ice pass to Kaberle, who carried the puck from the left point into the high slot and
banged a wrist shot into the net.
Toronto then notched a 4-2 lead with an insurance goal just before the halfway mark of the final period. The goal was set up by Phil Kessel's determined play. He grabbed a defensive zone pass and charged down centre ice. After being challenged by a New York
defender, he passed it to Kulemin for an easy slap shot into the open net.
Sjostrom’s charging snap shot from the right circle with five minutes left, sealed the game at 5-2. Meanwhile Schremp's deflected goal three minutes later made it a 5-3 game, but it was too late for Islanders to mount a comeback.
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