Islanders' momentum hits speed bump in loss to Maple Leafs

The Islanders are playing better than when their season was at its nadir, but they’ve still got a long way to go — both in the standings and on the ice.

That was evident in a 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday night at UBS Arena, in which the Islanders were outmanned and outplayed from start to finish to snap a three-game winning streak in a second straight lackluster performance against playoff opposition.

The loss dropped them back to .500 (14-14-6) and offered a harsh reminder of how far they still need to climb to earn a postseason berth.

Toronto held the Islanders to 26 shots, keeping an offense that scored four goals against the Coyotes on Friday night mostly quiet. Head coach Barry Trotz shuffled his lines around, benching Oliver Wahlstrom for Kieffer Bellows while keeping Austin Czarnik with Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee, but that did no good. By the end of the night, Czarnik was on the third line, swapping places with Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Perhaps that worked — the Islanders managed to generate some chances and offensive zone time in the third period — but it was too little, too late, and didn’t result in any goals.

Semyon Varlamov gives up a goal to Morgan Rielly (not pictured) during the second period of the Islanders’ 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs.

Robert Sabo

For most of the game, the Islanders had little going their way and fell victim to more than a few sloppy moments, of which the Maple Leafs took full advantage.

The Islanders spent most of the first period holed up in their own zone and threw away their two best chances at momentum.

After they got a power play on a Jason Spezza holding, the Islanders immediately lost the puck off an offensive zone faceoff and let Mitch Marner up the ice unimpeded for a shorthanded goal, his second against the Islanders this season.

Later, after Zach Parise stole a goal to tie the score 1-1 off a pass from Scott Mayfield all the way down the ice at 19:00, it looked as if the Islanders would go into the locker room tied.

Petr Mrazek makes a save on Brock Nelson during the Islanders’ loss.

USA TODAY Sports

Instead, with 0.4 seconds left in the period, Pierre Engvall slid a backhand shot past Semyon Varlamov, deflating the Islanders before the intermission.

The Leafs added a third goal at 9:42 of the second period, during a messy defensive sequence for the Islanders in which they lost both of Toronto’s defensemen in the offensive zone within a few seconds. That resulted in Morgan Rielly taking an unguarded one-timer, which he converted to make it 3-1.

On the heels of a run in which they had taken points in eight of nine games, Saturday offered a chance for the Islanders to prove their renewal was something real. A win over the Maple Leafs would have been a statement, putting the league on notice not to count the Islanders out despite a huge points deficit in the standings.

Instead, the resurgence looks more like a paper tiger.

The Islanders got pinned in their own zone, took penalties and gave up goals at the worst moments. It’s a setback — and a deflating one, at that.