The Islanders and the Maple Leafs did battle in the midst of their own fights: the Maple Leafs for the Atlantic Division, and the Islanders for their lives.
I truly can’t believe that I’m typing this, but that was a good first period against a much better team. The Islanders utterly dominated, and got some goals to back it up.
Ryan Pulock got them on board with a blast from the point so tight under the bar that everyone needed a minute to realize what happened, and Mathew Barzal, who made a nice play to set up Pulock’s goal, added a tally of his own to give the Isles an early two-goal lead, his first in over a month.