- Jim Hiller picked up his first win as Maple Leafs head coach
- Easton Cowan had a goal and an assist in the first period against the Islanders
- Read below for the goal videos and how Toronto survived a late Islanders push
Jim Hiller has his first win behind the Maple Leafs bench.
Easton Cowan had a goal and an assist, and Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves as Toronto held off the New York Islanders 2-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night. It came one night after the Leafs dropped their home opener 3-2 to Montreal.
New York, playing its first game of the season, had the jump early. Toronto cashed in anyway.
Cowan started the opening goal at 7:14 of the first. He worked the puck out of the corner and found Nick Paul in the slot, and Colton Sissons tipped Paul’s shot at the top of the crease for his first goal as a Maple Leaf.
Watch Sissons get Toronto on the board:
Toronto doubled the lead on the power play with Victor Eklund in the box for cross-checking John Tavares. Morgan Rielly knocked down a clearing attempt at the blue line and moved it to Jack Roslovic, whose shot bounced off Ilya Sorokin’s pad.
Cowan was parked by the right post and jammed home the rebound at 11:55.
Here’s the video of Cowan’s power-play goal:
Sissons nearly made it 3-0 in the second when he rang a shot off the right post after an Alexander Romanov turnover.
Stolarz stayed perfect into the third period, reaching back with his right pad to rob Anthony Duclair from the side of the net. His shutout bid ended at 14:09, oddly enough on a Leafs power play. Emil Heineman beat William Nylander up the ice, took a saucer pass from Bo Horvat and chipped it past Stolarz short-handed.
Check out Heineman’s shorty:
The Islanders pulled Sorokin for an extra attacker late but couldn’t find the equalizer. Sorokin finished with 24 saves.
Wednesday also marked the first NHL meeting between the last two first overall picks. Gavin McKenna played 15:32 for Toronto with one shot and no points. Matthew Schaefer logged a team-high 27:45 on the Islanders blue line and put three shots on goal.
Stolarz took first star honors, with Cowan second and Sissons third. Hiller’s Leafs sit at 1-1-0 after two nights of hockey.
