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Isles seek consecutive wins against Maple Leafs

Feb 8, 2011 - 3:44 PM (Sports Network) - The New York Islanders will try record consecutive wins for the first time in over a month when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Nassau Coliseum.

The Islanders won for the second time in three games with Saturday's victory over Ottawa, but New York, which is last in the Eastern Conference with 41 points, hasn't posted wins in consecutive outings since a three-game streak from Dec. 29-Jan. 3.

New York, which is 5-9-1 in 15 games since the end of that win streak, recorded a 5-3 win over the visiting Senators. Rob Schremp's goal in the early stages of the third period put the Islanders up for good and helped New York hand Ottawa its ninth straight loss.

Schremp ended with two goals and his game-winning tally came while Ottawa was shorthanded. Senators goaltender Robin Lehner was given a two-minute major for elbowing Isles backstop Kevin Poulin while the teams were skating off the ice at the end of the second period.

"It was nice to capitalize on that," Schremp said. "It was kind of a bad penalty for their goalie to take. It feels good to make them pay for it."

Michael Grabner and Frans Nielsen each added a goal and an assist while Matt Moulson lit the lamp for the victors.

Poulin stopped 20 shots in place of No. 1 goaltender Rick DiPietro, who is expected to miss the next 4-to-6 weeks with facial fractures suffered in a fight Wednesday against Pittsburgh goaltender Brent Johnson.

The Islanders ended a four-game home skid with the win over Ottawa, but they are just 9-12-4 as the host this season.

Toronto, meanwhile, has won three out of four games since the All-Star break and is coming off Monday's home victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. Tim Brent scored what proved to be the game-winning goal midway through the third period in the Maple Leafs' 5-4 decision over the Thrashers.

Clarke MacArthur, Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski each tallied a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who have 49 points on the year and are nine points out of a playoff spot in the East.

Dion Phaneuf also lit the lamp for Toronto, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 30 saves.

The Maple Leafs will try to end a five-game road losing streak tonight. The club hasn't won away from Air Canada Centre since beating San Jose on Jan. 11 and Toronto is just 9-15-1 as the visiting team this season.

New York recorded a 2-1 overtime win in Toronto on Oct. 18 in the only meeting between the clubs this season. The Isles have won three in a row and four of the last five overall matchups in this series and the Maple Leafs have lost two straight and three out of four on Long Island.