Horvat leads Islanders past Maple Leafs

TORONTO – Bo Horvat scored the winner and added an assist as the New York Islanders cruised past the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday night.

Simon Holmstrom with two, including one into the empty net, and Anthony Duclair had the other goals for New York (4-3-1). Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves.

Colton Sissons replied for Toronto (3-4-2). Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have dropped three straight games, and four of their last five.

The Islanders jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:18 of the first period when Duclair took a pass in the slot and changed the angle before firing through a partial screen on Bobrovsky.

Coming off a hat trick in Thursday’s 5-4 home shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Maple Leafs winger Kirill Marchenko had a couple of chances that Sorokin turned aside in the second.

No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, who was benched for the second half of Thursday’s contest, had an opportunity to tie things late in the period on a partial breakaway, but fired high and wide. The Islanders raced the other way, with Horvat eventually beating Bobrovsky at 18:33 to double the visitors’ lead.

Sissons got Toronto — which topped New York 2-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 30 — within one at 3:54 on a tipped shot through traffic, but Holmstrom restored the two-goal lead at 14:08 off a Horvat setup before firing into the empty net with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.

TAKEAWAYS

Islanders: Matias Maccelli left the game in the first and didn’t return with an apparent lower-body injury. The winger, who spent last season with Toronto, stepped on the stick of defenceman Darren Raddysh and fell awkwardly.

Maple Leafs: The club announced veteran centre John Tavares is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury suffered Thursday. The 36-year-old has two goals and five assists in seven games this season.

KEY MOMENT

New York killed off a delay-of-game penalty after defenceman Matthew Schaefer fired the puck over the glass midway through the third period with his team up 2-1.

KEY STAT

Schaefer, who won last season’s Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year and has yet to score this season, remains one goal shy from tying Tim Connolly for the most by a teenager in franchise history with 24. Bryan Trottier tops the list with 32.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

Maple Leafs: Host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2026.