The Islanders got a look at what it takes to be a playoff team as their second-half slide only worsened.
Auston Matthews scored the tiebreaking goal with just under four minutes remaining to lift the playoff-bound Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over the Islanders at Barclays Center on Friday night.
Mitch Marner and Nazem Kadri each had a goal and an assist, and Nikita Zaitsev and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots to help the Maple Leafs win for the eighth time in 10 games.
“It was a good hockey game,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said.