• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Toronto uses third period surge to beat Isles

Feb 9, 2011 - 4:45 AM Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Tomas Kaberle, Nikolai Kulemin and Fredrik Sjostrom each tallied third period goals to give Toronto a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Colby Armstrong added a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won four of their last five. Jay Rosehill added a goal and James Reimer made 31 saves in the win.

"All we can do is control what we do and how we play as a team," Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf said. "We'll take the win tonight."

Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner and Rob Schremp each scored for the Islanders, who have rotated losses and wins during the last five games.

Mikko Koskinen made his NHL debut between the pipes for New York and turned away 21-of-26 shots. He got the start after fellow rookie netminder Kevin Poulin injured his left leg during warmups.

The goaltender woes have haunted the Islanders ever since the trade of Dwayne Roloson to Tampa Bay in early January. They lost Rick DiPietro for 4-to-6 weeks with facial fractures suffered in a fight last week with Pittsburgh goalie Brent Johnson, which then pushed Poulin into the No. 1 spot.

"I thought he played well," Moulson said of Koskinen. "We didn't help him out much. He made some big saves."

Toronto broke a 2-2 tie 2:34 into the final stanza. The goal was set up by Armstrong's slick cross-ice pass to Kaberle, who took the puck from the left point into the high slot and wristed the it into the top left corner.

A Leafs' insurance goal came with 11:11 left, which was set up by Phil Kessel's determined play. He picked off a defensive zone pass and charged down center ice. After being met by an Islander defender, he crossed it to Kulemin for an easy tapper into the open net.

Sjostrom's charging snap shot from the right circle with 5:07 to go, put the game away while and Schremp's deflection goal three minutes later was too late for the home team to mount a comeback.

Just 89 seconds into the game, the first shot on Koskinen found the back of the net. Darryl Boyce dropped off the puck to Armstrong, who skated untouched into the right circle and ripped a shot past the rookie goaltenders' glove.

The second shot on the young netminder saw wasn't much better and resulted in a 2-0 deficit 6 1/2 minutes in. The Islanders failed to get the puck out of the zone, while Luke Schenn kept it in and rifled a snap shot from the top of the right circle, which was deflected by Rosehill for his first goal of the season.

New York got on the board, 2-1, thanks to a power-play goal at the 10:48 mark of the first. From the left corner, John Tavares sent a backhand pass toward the slot where Moulson slipped it in.

The Islanders scored the lone goal of the middle frame to tie it when Grabner wristed a rebound in from the doorstep near the 15-minute mark.

Game Notes

Goaltender Joel Martin was recalled from Bridgeport(AHL) on an emergency loan in light of Poulin's pregame injury...Islanders forward Jeremy Colliton suffered a rib injury during the game...Toronto ended a five-game road losing streak...Boyce had three assists in the win.