Doug Weight was tired of rationalizing what went wrong, no longer interested in whether or not the scoreboard reflected what really happened.
“We can’t afford to do the old song and dance that we played well but we lost,” the Islanders interim coach said Monday. “We’ve got to find a way to win.”
Note for note, the song sounded the same, but the steps finally changed.
Less than two minutes from suffering their third straight devastating one-goal loss, the Islanders ended their two-game slide with a 6-5 comeback win in overtime Monday night over the Maple Leafs at Barclays Center, won on Brock Nelson’s goal at 2:42 of the extra session.
Though the Islanders allowed five goals for the third straight game — and were in danger of earning no points after William Nylander’s apparent game-winning goal with 2:01 left in the third period — Andrew Ladd improbably tied the game 32 seconds later, setting Nelson up for his second goal of the game in overtime.
Despite suffering deflating back-to-back losses, the Islanders (23-18-10) got off to a strong start against another Eastern Conference team fighting for a playoff spot, taking the lead just 1:23 into the first period. Ryan Strome followed his own rebound and buried his eighth goal of the season, recording a point for the fourth straight game. He later added an assist, giving him two goals and four assists in that span.
However, a night off couldn’t get Thomas Greiss’ game right. The Isles goalie, who signed a three-year contract extension Jan. 30, followed up his five-goal, 19-save performance in Detroit on Friday with another poor outing, starting with surrendering a Nikita Soshnikov slap shot with 6:33 left in the first period. A little over a minute later, Greiss gave up an incredibly soft goal to rookie sensation Auston Matthews, who put Toronto up 2-1 with his 24th goal of the season after sending a shot through Greiss’ pads.
Nikolay Kulemin’s ninth goal — set up by a Shane Prince wrap-around pass and Casey Cizikas shot — tied the game at two with 1:47 left in the first period, but the Islanders failed to finish two pristine chances by Kulemin and Josh Bailey early in the second period.
From there, the Maple Leafs (24-17-10) seized control, as Greiss allowed a third straight goal to a Toronto rookie on Mitchell Marner’s score with 14:48 left in the second period. Midway through the second period, a horrendous Islanders power play turned horrific after Zach Hyman converted a shorthanded goal past Greiss stick side, turning the sparse Brooklyn crowd against their team.
Nelson’s 12th goal of the season — with 6:12 left in the second period — cut Toronto’s lead in half, and Bailey emerged in front of the net with 6:30 left in the third to tie the game, scoring his 11th goal of the season on a nice backhand pass from Anders Lee.
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