3 Takeaways: Beauvillier Caps Gutsy Comeback with OT Winner vs Leafs

There were plenty of emotions in the New York Islanders locker room on Monday night. 

There was elation from Anthony Beauvillier, who capped a 3-2 Islanders comeback over the Toronto Maple Leafs with a dart of an OT winner. 

There was pride from Cal Clutterbuck, who was processing the fact that he’d become the NHL’s all-time hits leader.

There was relief, as the Islanders snapped out of a two-game losing streak and finished their four-game road trip with a 2-2-0 record.

Resiliency is harder to define as an emotion, but there was plenty of that in the room too after another gutsy win. 

“When you’ve lost a couple it could be easy to just kind of pack it in,” Clutterbuck said. “But it’s never really been our style.”

Noah Dobson (1G, 1A) and Josh Bailey scored for the Islanders, while John Tavares (PPG) and Auston Matthews scored for the Leafs. 

With the win, the Islanders also picked up their first win in Toronto since Dec. 29, 2018. 

BEAUVILLIER CAPS ISLANDERS COMEBACK

Anders Lee described Monday’s game as a grind. 

At the tail end of a four-game road trip that saw the Islanders go from Ontario to Texas and back, the Islanders captain said the team’s legs were heavy, which was evident with Toronto jumping out to a 7-0 shot advantage in the opening five minutes. 

As has been custom in this Islanders season, they weathered the early storm and pushed back, with Dobson opening the scoring at the 15:21 mark, netting his sixth of the season.

The Maple Leafs responded with a pair of goals in the second period, as Tavares tied the score on the power play, finishing off some tic-tac-toe passing from William Nylander and Mitch Marner, with Marner extending his point streak to an NHL-long 13 games. 

Matthews made it 2-1 at 14:06, deflecting a Timothy Liljegren past Ilya Sorokin, who was still searching for his first win against the Maple Leafs. 

At times, the Leafs pressed, holding the Islanders without a shot for an eight-minute stretch at the end of the second period. They relied on Sorokin, who stopped 30-of-32 in the win, and made his most important save on Mitch Marner late in the third to keep the Islanders within one. 

Video: NYI@TOR: Sorokin makes save on Marner

And while the Islanders only created five high-danger chances (at five-on-five) compared to the Leafs’ 12 (courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) they stayed patient and took advantage of a Maple Leafs miscue. Erik Källgren coughed up the puck behind the net, allowing Bailey to tie the score with 2:58 to play, setting the stage for another Isles comeback. 

“It’s just sticking with it,” said Bailey. “I think we’re all a little bit tired. We’ve been on the road for a little while and it’s part of playing in this league and you just have to grind it out some nights and we just stuck with it. We’re fortunate to find a way to win.”

While the Islanders were indeed tired, they credited Oliver Wahlstrom’s fight with Rasmus Sandin as a moment that helped spark their game in the third. 

In overtime, the Islanders were again content to wait for the Maple Leafs, who were credited with 18 giveaways, to make a mistake. After being outshot in the first, second and third periods, respectively, the Islanders had a 2-0 shot advantage in overtime, with Beauvillier delivering the dagger at 1:56. 

With the comeback win, the Islanders improve to 4-6-0 when trailing after two periods and 3-0 in OT this season. 

“We probably didn’t really deserve two points tonight, but it is what it is, just one of those games where you just have to be patient have to bear down on your chances,” Beauvillier said after scoring the OT winner. “Wins are wins and when points come like that we’re definitely going to take it and get out of here.” 

Video: NYI@TOR: Bailey evens score late in the 3rd period

LAMBERT’S SHAKES UP D-PAIRINGS:

Lane Lambert shuffled his d-pairs ahead of Monday’s game, putting Alex Romanov and Scott Mayfield together, with Sebastian Aho skating alongside Noah Dobson. 

“Just to try and spark [something],” Lambert said of his decision. “We change up the forward lines, so the pairs are no different. We needed a little bit of spark. There was some things about it I liked.”

The Aho-Dobson pair factored into the Islanders first goal, as Aho took a pass from Mathew Barzal and circled the net before feeding the puck back to Dobson at the point. Dobson put a slapper on net that caromed off David Kampf and past Erik Kallgren at 15:21. 

The goal was Dobson’s sixth of the season. He also had a team-high eight shot attempts in the win. 

If Aho-Dobson is the offensive pair, Romanov-Mayfield made a physical impact. Romanov tied Clutterbuck with a team-high nine hits in the win, while Mayfield was at the center of an altercation with Michael Bunting. Lambert said it was too small of a sample size to decide if it was a long-term change. 

Lambert also made changes to three of his forward lines, shuffling his left wings. Anders Lee played alongside Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom, Josh Bailey played with Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier, while Zach Parise was back with semi-regular linemates in JG Pageau and Kyle Palmieri. 

CLUTTERBUCK SETS HITS RECORD:

A lot of eyes were on Cal Clutterbuck on Monday – and not just because heads need to be on a swivel when he’s on the ice. 

Clutterbuck set the NHL’s all-time hits record (3,635) with nine hits on Monday, passing Dustin Brown (3,632) in the process. Clutterbuck was visibly moved when asked about it after the game. 

“I guess one thing is that not many guys have records,” Clutterbuck said. “The thing I’m most proud of is it’s probably a record of longevity and consistency. And you know, it’s just something that I’m proud of, I guess. It’s something that it’s a little bit of a validation of the amount of work I’ve kind of put into it and the consistency which I’ve been able to go out there and do it with.”

NEXT GAME:

After four games on the road, the Islanders return home to take on the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.