Islanders get past Maple Leafs in DeBoer debut

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Peter DeBoer won his debut as coach of the New York Islanders, who defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 at UBS Arena on Thursday.

DeBoer was hired Sunday to replace Patrick Roy, who was fired in his third season.

“There was just a lot of really good stuff,” DeBoer said. “We've been talking all week about playoff habits. You have to have them this time of year to give yourself a chance to get in the playoffs. And I thought they delivered on that. It wasn't a perfect game, but I loved how fast we played. I loved some of the playoff habits we played with. We got contributions from everybody. It was a really solid start. A lot of things for us to build on.”

Calum Ritchie had a goal and an assist, and Tony DeAngelo had two assists for the Islanders (43-31-5), who ended a four-game losing streak. Ilya Sorokin made 13 saves.

The Islanders moved within one point of the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division with three games remaining for each. New York also remained three points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Senators have three games left. 

“I thought that was a great game by us,” New York defenseman Matthew Schaefer said. “Obviously, there's things we can always work on, but I thought that was an amazing game. I think we were pretty pumped to have Pete back there, just everything we've worked on in practice. We really wanted to show him how great a team we are and what a great group we’ve got in here. I think that was a big thing. We're going to keep going to work. These are all big games, and must wins, so we're just going to keep having fun and keep going to work.”

Steven Lorentz, Easton Cowan and Morgan Rielly scored for the Maple Leafs (32-33-14), who have lost four straight and have been eliminated from playoff contention. They lost 4-0 at the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.

Artur Akhtyamov made 39 saves, including 22 in the first period, in his first NHL start and second game.

“It feels unbelievable. It was my first game. I was so excited,” Akhtyamov said. “I think it was a good experience for me. Thank you, coaching staff, for this opportunity.”

Brayden Schenn gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 2:08 of the first period. On a delayed penalty, Bo Horvat dove in the slot to get the puck to Ritchie, who found Schenn at the top of the crease for the finish into an open net.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau extended the lead to 2-0 at 4:55. He poked in the puck behind Akhtyamov after the goalie stopped his initial attempt at the right post.

“We knew they were going to come,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “They came hard in the first and shot everything at the net, and we didn’t recover pucks and make a play to get out of there and got hemmed in a little bit.”

Lorentz cut it to 2-1 at 5:11, beating Sorokin with a wrist shot from the left circle that got inside the left post.

Cowan tied it 2-2 on the power play at 1:57 of the second period. He scored with a wrist shot from the top of the slot with Sorokin screened.

Schaefer then gave New York a 3-2 lead at 9:39 when he put a wrist shot through the five-hole from the left circle. With his 23rd goal, Schaefer tied Brian Leetch (1988-89) for the most in a season by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.

Emil Heineman’s power-play goal extended the lead to 4-2 at 16:44. Mathew Barzal found him at the top of the slot with a short feed, and Heineman beat Akhtyamov glove side.

Ritchie pushed it to 5-2 during a 5-on-3 man-advantage at 10:19 of the third period when he banged in a loose puck at the side of the net.

“We executed what he wanted from us, and the desperation was there,” DeAngelo said, referring to DeBoer. “The biggest thing I thought tonight was even when they tied at 2-2, the game still went the same way. They got a goal in the power play. Big deal. I thought we kept dominating as we were the first 20, then it carried into the second 20 and the third 20. Same thing. 

“So it was impressive, an impressive game for us. The desperation was there, and that's what we need for the next one, the next one, and the next one. We can't change.”

Rielly’s pass to the crease deflected off Barzal’s stick and through Sorokin’s legs at 14:04 to cut the deficit to 5-3.

NOTES: The Islanders had a 44-16 advantage in shots on goal, the second time they have had a differential of plus-28 or better this season. They outshot the Boston Bruins 44-14 (plus-30) in a 3-1 loss Nov. 26. ... New York’s 24 shots in the first period tied its season high for the most in a period. The Islanders also had 24 in a 5-2 win against the Florida Panthers on March 28. ... DeAngelo returned after missing six games with a lower-body injury. … Maple Leafs forward Luke Haymes, making his NHL debut, got the secondary assist on Rielly’s goal.