3 Takeaways: Barzal and Dobson Lead Isles to 4-3 OT win over Maple Leafs  

Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson capped off a big night by teaming up for the game-winner as the New York Islanders defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in OT on Thursday night at UBS Arena. 

Barzal (1G, 3A) scored his fifth career OT winner and second of the season 21 seconds into the extra frame on a feed from Dobson (4A) to snap a two-game winless skid for the Islanders. Kyle Palmieri, Alexander Romanov and Bo Horvat scored in regulation for New York, while Auston Matthews (2G) and Bobby McMann provided goals for Toronto. 

“Everyone stepped up tonight,” Horvat said after the win. “We could’ve rolled over after we were down 3-1 but we came out even harder. Really proud of everybody in the room, especially Barzal, Dobson and Sorokin, they had a hell of a night.”  

Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves in the win, while Martin Jones turned aside 26 of 30 as his four-game win streak ended. With the win, the Islanders improved to 2-0-0 over the Maple Leafs this season and jumped back into third place in the Metropolitan Division.

ISLES BATTLE-BACK EFFORT POWERS WIN:

The Islanders needed a resilient effort to overcome a two-goal deficit in the second period and they got that on Thursday against Toronto. 

The Islanders found themselves down 3-1 after Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 32nd and 33rd goals of the season in the span of 2:14. Instead of wilting, the Isles grinded their way back to an even score.

“Down 3-1 early in the second period could’ve sucked the life out of us, but we stuck with it.” Dobson said. 

Alexander Romanov sparked the comeback effort after receiving a drop pass from Barzal and ripping a shot top corner from the circle to pull the Islanders within one. The goal marked Romanov’s fourth of the season – a new career-high – and the defenseman’s second goal in five games. 

“That was a big goal by Romi,” Horvat said. “It brought us back to life. It wasn’t always pretty out there by any means, but our battle level was high. We were recovering pucks and getting our opportunities.” 

The Islanders found the equalizer on the power play, as Bo Horvat’s tip-in and 17th goal of the season came from a Dobson shot from the point.

“We got some momentum off of that and got back into the game,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought that we kept pucks in in deep played very, very well in the offensive zone.”

After a scoreless third, the Islanders didn’t take long to find the back of the net in the extra frame, pouncing on their first opportunity on an offensive zone draw after a Leafs icing. Dobson found open ice and sent a pretty pass to Barzal at the doorstep, beating Jones stick-side.  

The tally marked the third time the Islanders scored an overtime goal in the first minute.

POWER PLAY CONVERTS TWICE:

Noah Dobson recorded his first-career four assist night with a helper on every Islanders goal to power the win, while Mathew Barzal’s four-point night (1G, 3A) marked his third of the season. 

In a game where the Islanders could only score one goal at five-on-five, the power play came through and converted twice. 

Dobson recorded both primary assists on the pair of power play tallies, reaching a team leading 17 power-play points (1G, 16A) on the season. Two of Barzal's three assists of the night were on the power play.

The power play scored nine seconds into its first opportunity, as Kyle Palmieri tipped a Dobson point shot and whacked in the rebound to open the scoring. Palmieri’s goal snapped a 12-game goal drought.

After going 2-for-3 on the night, the Isles power play has now scored in four of its last five games, going 5-for-12 over that span.

NEW LOOK LINES WITH CIZIKAS OUT:

With Casey Cizikas out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, Lambert threw all four lines in a blender. 

Barzal shifted back to center, the middle of a new-look line with Simon Holmstrom and Palmieri, though Barzal played stretches with Anders Lee and Horvat. Wahlstrom saw limited ice time, skating 8:03 but was able to put pucks on net with four shots in the game.

Hudson Fasching drew back into the lineup after a three-game absence, skating with Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson. JG Pageau took over for Cizikas between Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck. Julien Gauthier came out of the lineup.

“Lane did a good job on the bench today, we had to scramble lines a little bit,” Barzal said. “He did a good job rolling guys and whatnot. So yeah, top to bottom, it was a big win.” 

When asked if the line changed gave the team a spark, Lane credited the overall effort of the team in the overtime victory and a much-needed bounce back win. 

“The players really took it upon themselves,” Lambert said. “We knew we had a performance the other night that we didn't really like. So you look at this game, it shows a lot of character, especially going down 3-1 tonight, so wasn't so much the lines, it's just the resolve of our team and the group.”