Easton Cowan collected a goal and an assist in the first period to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs past the New York Islanders 2-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
Colton Sissons opened the scoring for Toronto at 7:14 of the first period, tipping in a pass from Nick Paul with Cowan picking up the second assist for his first goal of the season. Cowan widened the gap to 2-0 at 11:55 of the same frame on a power play, burying a wrist shot set up by Jack Roslovic and Morgan Rielly for his first tally of the campaign.
The score remained unchanged until late in the third period. New York answered with a shorthanded marker at 14:09 when Emil Heineman converted a snap shot off a setup from Bo Horvat for his first goal of the year, but the Islanders were unable to generate the equalizer.
Goaltender Anthony Stolarz turned away 26 of 27 shots to earn the victory for Toronto, while the Maple Leafs killed off all four penalties they faced and finished 1-for-4 on the man advantage. For the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 of 26 shots, but New York went 0-for-4 on the power play.
The victory evened the Maple Leafs' regular-season record at 1-1-0. The Islanders dropped their regular-season opener to stand at 0-1-0.
Toronto returns to the ice on Monday, October 19, when it hosts the San Jose Sharks. The Islanders do not play again until Tuesday, October 20, when they host the Anaheim Ducks.
