Matthews lifts Maple Leafs past Islanders

NEW YORK --Auston Matthews broke a tie with 3:58 remaining in the third period to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 win against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Friday.
Matthews, who had a goal and an assist, made it 5-4 when he redirected William Nylander's cross-crease pass past Islanders goaltender
Christopher Gibson
.

"A good two points for us," said Matthews, who has a point in each of his five games since returning from a shoulder injury on March 22. "Obviously, they're a high offensive team. They've got a lot of skill and firepower as far as that goes. You've got to find a way to contain them, and obviously, we've got some guys that can put the puck in the net as well. Probably not a fun game for the coaches, but a more fun game for the players."
\[WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Islanders highlights\]
Mitchell Marner and Nazem Kadri each had a goal and an assist for Toronto (47-24-7), which is 8-2-0 in its past 10 games and six points behind the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division. Frederik Andersen made 29 saves.
Anthony Beauvillier had a goal and an assist, and Gibson made 27 saves for New York (32-36-10).
John Tavares tied it 4-4 with a power-play goal at 6:28 of the third period, scoring top shelf after collecting a loose puck at the right side of the net.

"Games like tonight say a lot about how we can play," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We've got a lot of guys that can play the game and battle against a good team that wants the points."
James van Riemsdyk gave the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead at 2:01 of the third period when he scored on a wrist shot from the between the face-off circles.
The Islanders took a 1-0 lead at 12:04 of the first period when Jordan Eberle fed Beauvillier in the slot for a one-timer.
Kadri tied it six seconds into a power play when he redirected Marner's pass from the right circle at 16:22 of the first period to make it 1-1.

"Obviously it was going back and forth for a while there, so I thought our team just did a good job of sticking with it," Marner said. "Obviously, it's a good win for us."
Johnny Boychuk gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 18:34 of the first period on a slap shot from the right point. Nikita Zaitsev tied it 2-2 at 7:56 of the second period.
Brock Nelson made it 3-2 on a one-timer from the slot at 10:45 of the second.
"Up and down game," Nelson said. "To give that one up late, it hurts."

Marner tied it 3-3 at 17:18 of the second when he redirected Jake Gardiner's slap shot from the left point.
"We didn't want the puck in our net as much as it was tonight," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "It just seemed to go in. The first two, we didn't want that to happen, but that's the way it went. We just have to find a way to keep grinding."

Goal of the game

Matthews' goal at 16:02 of the third period.

Save of the game

Andersen's save on Cal Clutterbuck at 5:05 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Van Riemsdyk's goal at 2:01 of the third period.

They said it

"I think that's real important. I've had a lot of 100-point teams over the years, and I think it's a real good indication of a good hockey club. It's hard to get 100 points; you've got to be a good team to do it. I'm excited for our guys that worked that hard and were good enough to do that. Now, we've got four more opportunities to get better and get ready (for the playoffs)." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"Two things that I think Toronto does a pretty good job of: They feed on your turnovers, but they don't turn the puck over that much. They get pucks in, and they track pucks hard. Every guy on their team, which forces them to have short shifts. It's something we've preached all year, and it just hasn't happened. Totally, 100 fingers should be pointed right at me. We have to track pucks harder." -- Islanders coach Doug Weight

Need to know

Marner has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in an 11-game point streak. He is the third Maple Leafs player since 1997-98 to have at least one point in 11 consecutive games (Nylander, 12 games, 2016-17; Mats Sundin, 11 games, 2005-06). … Andersen tied a Maple Leafs record with his 37th win of the season, joining Ed Belfour (2002-03) and Andrew Raycroft (2006-07). … The Islanders are 5-15-1 at home since Jan. 2.

What's next

Maple Leafs: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, NHL.TV)
Islanders:At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)