TORONTO (AP) — Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Pierre Engvall and 24-year-old New York Islanders rookie Kyle MacLean enjoyed fulfilling homecomings on Monday night.
Engvall scored the winner on a rebound with 2:02 remaining in the third period of a 3-2 New York Islanders victory in his first game at Scotiabank Arena since being traded by the Maple Leafs a year ago.
MacLean, a former junior standout with the nearby Oshawa Generals, scored his first goal in his sixth NHL game, putting the Islanders ahead 2-1 in the second period.
MacLean’s father is former New Jersey Devils sniper and current Islanders assistant coach John MacLean.
”(John) had a little reaction, but don’t tell anybody,” new Islanders coach Patrick Roy said with a smile.
The win evened Roy’s record at 2-2-1 and halted the Maple Leafs three-game winning streak.
“I played in Toronto for a long time,” Engvall said. “To get that win was good for us.”
Mathew Barzal also scored for the Islanders. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves.
Toronto captain John Tavares tied the game on the power play with 4:48 left in the third period, redirecting a Morgan Rielly shot from the slot. Mitch Marner also scored for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs had an excellent opportunity to tie the game in the opening minute of the third period, but Auston Matthews’ shot rang off both posts behind Sorokin.
Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves in his fourth consecutive start as Toronto outshot the visitors 37-29.
The Islanders began the second period on the power play. They lost their man advantage when Bo Horvat fought Maple Leafs defender Simon Benoit after he slammed into Barzal along the sideboards.
Marner tied the game while four-on-four, taking a rink-wide pass from Tavares to score his 21st of the season.
Matthews picked up the secondary assist on Marner's goal to extend his point streak (seven goals, four assists) to seven games.
Two minutes later, the Islanders regained the lead when the rookie MacLean jumped out of the box after serving the extra minor to Horvat to take a breakaway pass from Cal Clutterbuck.
“It’s been a long journey,” the undrafted MacLean said. “I always had that inner belief, but it’s cool now, and you kind of feel like the hard work is beginning to pay off.”
John MacLean played 18 NHL seasons, winning a Stanley Cup with the 1994-95 New Jersey Devils. He stayed calm after his son scored, but Kyle MacLean was sure they would share the special moment on the charter flight home.
“This is a unique situation and we’re still trying to figure things out,” the younger MacLean said. “We’re trying to keep a player-coach relationship as much as possible during the season.”
Marner performed alongside Matthews, William Nylander and Rielly on the winning side in the three-on-three event at the NHL all-star weekend in Toronto.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Start a four-game homestand against Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Maple Leafs: Host Dallas on Wednesday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Associated Press
