Islanders score 7 against Maple Leafs in 3rd straight win

ELMONT, N.Y. --Cal Clutterbuck had two goals and an assist for the New York Islanders in a 7-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena on Tuesday.

"It's big," Clutterbuck said. "It's two points that we need, obviously. The more encouraging thing [is] I think we played pretty well [all] 200 feet against a pretty good offensive team. And there seems to be a lot of good offensive teams in the (playoff) mix, so if anything, it just goes to show that if we can stick to the plan and be very disciplined in it, we can have success."
Anders Lee and Noah Dobson each had a goal and an assist, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had two assists for New York (37-27-8), which has won three straight and is 7-2-1 in its past 10 games. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.
The Islanders moved three points ahead of the Florida Panthers, who have one game in hand, for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"Well, it was certainly our most complete third period, just in terms of how we played, the structure we played, our line changes, shift length, everything," New York coach Lane Lambert said. "It was well done by our players, and for the most part it was a solid game."

Mitchell Marner and Sam Lafferty scored for Toronto (42-19-9), which had won two in a row. Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves.
"Through two periods there [was] a lot to like about our game," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We didn't necessarily deserve to be down 3-1 after two periods. There's a lot of good things that happened. Obviously, third period we don't like how we handled that, but our team has been through a lot. We've won some big hockey games against very good teams here of late."
Toronto remained three points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have played two more games, for second in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay lost 3-2 at the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
"We're playing for a lot, too," Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "We're trying to get our game dialed in. By no means are we losing focus. We're trying to play playoff hockey."
Lafferty gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 11:01 of the first period when Timothy Liljegren's one-timer deflected in off him in front.

Sorokin kept it a one-goal game shortly after at 12:38 when he reached back with his paddle to deny Erik Gustafsson's shot into an open net.
"I mean, it's just ridiculous," Lee said of the save. "Woke us up on the bench. I think that turned the tide a little there. We needed that. They came out [and] played really good hockey for the first 10 minutes of the game and we were still getting where we needed to be. You know, they were creating some good opportunities, so a 2-0 game 10 minutes in, [that] could change quite a bit. So credit to Ilya there. What a phenomenal save."
Zach Parise scored 28 seconds into the second period to tie it 1-1. Scott Mayfield circled the net and sent a pass to Parise for a one-timer in front.
Hudson Fasching put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 13:50, scoring glove side from the left circle following a turnover by Liljegren.

Clutterbuck extended the lead to 3-1 at 17:26. He redirected Ryan Pulock's shot from the right point after the Maple Leafs turned it over again while trying to clear the puck.
Marner cut it to 3-2 at 3:29 of the third period with a one-timer from the high slot, but Clutterbuck responded 44 seconds later to make it 4-2.
"Listen, I play the game a certain way. I do things that don't always involve scoring goals, but I also feel like I have the ability to do it when I have the chance," Clutterbuck said. "… I just like to bury it when I get my chances."
Simon Holmstrom pushed it to 5-2 at 10:00, jamming in a loose puck in the crease.
Dobson made it 6-2 at 13:56 by shooting the puck the length of the ice into an empty net. Lee then scored on a redirection of Dobson's point shot at 16:46 for the 7-2 final.
"I thought after they scored their second goal our structure came into play," Lambert said. "You know, [they] turned the puck over in [their zone] and Clutterbuck scored. I thought at that point in time we really took over the game."
NOTES: Islanders forward Brock Nelson left late in the first period after being checked into the boards by Noel Acciari. There was no update postgame. … It was Lou Lamoriello's 1,400th win as a general manager; he has worked for New York for five seasons. … Marner has 90 points (27 goals, 63 assists) in 70 games this season. He is the fourth player in Maple Leafs to get at least 90 points in consecutive seasons, joining Lanny McDonald (1975-76 to 1976-77), Darryl Sittler (1975-76 to 1977-78; 1979-80 to 1980-81) and Doug Gilmour (1992-93 to 1993-94).