By Canadian Press

Clutterbuck scores 2 as Islanders crush Leafs 7-2

Mar 21, 2023 | 9:02 PM

NEW YORK (AP) — Cal Clutterbuck had two goals and an assist as the New York Islanders got all their scoring in the last two periods in a 7-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

Anders Lee and Noah Dobson each had a goal and an assist, and Zach Parise, Hudson Fasching and Simon Holmstrom also scored to help the Islanders win their third straight and improve to 7-2-1 in their last 10. Jean-Gabriel Pageau had two assists and Ilya Sorokin finished with 24 saves.

New York moved three points ahead of Florida for the top wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers lost 6-3 at Philadelphia.

Sam Lafferty and Mitchell Marner scored for Toronto, which had won two straight. Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves.

After the Islanders scored three times in the second period to take a 3-1 lead, Auston Matthews set up Marner for a one-timer from the slot to pull the Maple Leafs within one at 3:39 of the third. It was Marner’s 27th.

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The Islanders responded 44 seconds later as Clutterbuck intercepted a loose puck and raced up the ice before wiring a wrist shot past Samsonov’s blocker to restore a two-goal lead. It was his second of the night and sixth of the season.

Holstrom made it 5-2 at the midpoint of the third as he converted his second attempt in front on a rebound of Lee’s try.

Dobson scored an empty-netter with 6:04 left for his 13th, and Lee redirected a shot from the point for his 27th less than three minutes later to cap the four-goal period.

Lafferty opened the scoring with a deflection after Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield failed to tie up the Maple Leafs’ forward in front of the Islanders’ net with just under nine minutes left in the first.

Sorokin kept the Islanders deficit at one goal with an incredible stick save with 7:22 left in the opening period, swatting Maple Leafs defenceman Erik Gustafsson’s shot at a wide-open net out of the air with his stick.

Parise tied it 28 seconds into the second with a one-timer off a pass from Mayfield. Pageau also had an assist on the play to extend his point streak to four games.

Fasching wired a shot past Samsonov’s glove with 6:10 left in the period after Toronto’s Timothy Liljegren misplayed a clearing attempt in the defensive zone. It was Fasching’s seventh goal in 39 games this season.

The Islanders extended their lead to 3-1 after Maple Leafs forward Zach Aston-Reese couldn’t control a puck along the boards and Clutterbuck was able to redirect Ryan Pulock’s shot past Samsonov. It was Clutterbuck’s first goal since returning to the lineup in mid-March after missing 20 games with an upper-body injury.

SIDELINED

Islanders forward Brock Nelson left the game and did not return after receiving a punishing check from Noel Acciari along the boards.

STATS

Marner recorded his 90th point of the season and became the first Maple Leafs skater since Doug Gilmour (1992-94 and 1993-94) to post consecutive 90-point seasons. The only other skaters to do so in franchise history are Darryl Sittler (1975–78 and 1979-81) and Lanny McDonald (1975-77). … Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello registered his 1,400th win as GM, joining David Poile (1525) as the only two with at least 1,400 regular-season victories. Lamoriello has 188 wins with the Islanders, 118 with the Maple Leafs (2015-18) and 1,093 with the Devils (1987-2015).

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At Florida on Thursday night.

Islanders: At Columbus on Friday night.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

By: Scott Charles, The Associated Press