Horvat, Holmstrom lead Islanders past Maple Leafs 4-1

Bo Horvat had a goal and an assist and Simon Holmstrom scored twice as the New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, NHL.com and The Canadian Press reported.

Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves for the Islanders (4-3-1), while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots for Toronto (3-4-2), which is 1-2-2 in its past five games, according to NHL.com and the league’s official game summary.

The game drew more than 10,000 searches in Canada on Saturday, according to Google Trends.

Anthony Duclair opened the scoring at 8:18 of the first period, stepping around Nick Paul in the slot after a backhand pass from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Horvat, the Islanders captain, made it 2-0 at 18:33 of the second by putting in a rebound after Bobrovsky stopped Kyle Palmieri, NHL.com reported.

Colton Sissons cut the lead in half at 3:54 of the third, redirecting a Troy Stecher one-timer, but Holmstrom scored from the slot on a Horvat pass at 14:08 and added an empty-net goal at 17:55. Toronto outshot New York 13-3 in the third period, according to NHL.com.

“I think we passed up on a lot of shots today, too, and just kind of made it a little easier on them,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said, according to NHL.com. Coach Jim Hiller said his team needed to get inside more against Sorokin and New York’s defence. “You are not going to score on the perimeter with this team,” he said.

The Leafs played without John Tavares, who is week to week with a lower-body injury he sustained in Thursday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

The Islanders lost forwards Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli to injuries in the first period, NHL.com reported. Ritchie left after one shift with a lower-body injury, and Maccelli was helped off after falling awkwardly on his left knee when he was tripped by Darren Raddysh. Coach Peter DeBoer had no update on either player after the game but called it “probably our most complete game of the year.”

Horvat, a former Vancouver Canucks captain from London, Ont., said the win showed the group’s depth. “Everybody stepped up in a different way tonight,” he said.

Toronto’s skid comes during a week of change for the club, which acquired Aatu Räty from the Canucks on Thursday.

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Sources: NHL.com; NHL official game summary; The Canadian Press; Google Trends Canada.