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Islanders hope to keep up surge against Maple Leafs

Feb 22, 2011 - 4:08 PM (Sports Network) - The surging New York Islanders will shoot for their seventh win in eight games when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Air Canada Centre.

In addition to winning six of their last seven games, the Islanders are 8-3-0 so far in February. New York is still seeded 14th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference and is 11 points out of a playoff spot.

The Islanders hosted Florida in a matinee on Monday and pounded the Panthers, 5-1, behind Matt Moulson's second career hat trick. Radek Martinek and Josh Bailey also tallied for New York.

Two days after becoming the first goaltender in Islanders history to record a shutout in his first start, Al Montoya provided another strong performance between the pipes with 20 saves.

"The guys are having fun and they're playing within the team concept," said Islanders head coach Jack Capuano.

New York will aim for a fourth straight road win tonight. The Isles are just 11-16-3 as the guest this season.

The Maple Leafs were denied a third straight victory when they hosted the rival Ottawa Senators on Saturday. It was the third setback in five games for Toronto, which is seven points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto held Ottawa scoreless for 65 minutes, but still wound up losing 1-0 when Jason Spezza scored the lone goal of the shootout. Spezza used a simple wrister to beat James Reimer's glove hand. In the third round, Nikolai Kulemin lost control of the puck before he could get a shot off to seal the win for the Sens.

Craig Anderson stymied the Maple Leafs with 47 saves in his debut with the Senators, who acquired the netminder from Colorado last week.

"We had a ton of scoring chances, 47 shots on goal," said Toronto head coach Ron Wilson. "What I feared (was) Craig Anderson would be excited with a change of scenery, and he had a great night in a game that we totally dominated."

Reimer, meanwhile, notched his second career shutout for the Leafs, making 22 saves in the loss. The defeat dropped Toronto to 13-11-6 as the host this season.

Toronto forwards Colby Armstrong and Mike Brown are expected to return to the ice tonight. Armstrong has missed the last four games with blurred vision, while Brown has been out with an upper-body injury since Feb. 1

Also, defenseman Brett Lebda suffered a leg injury yesterday in practice and is questionable for tonight.

Toronto and the Islanders have split a pair of meetings this year with each club posting a win on the road. The Maple Leafs recorded a 5-3 win on Long Island when the clubs met last on Feb. 8. That victory halted a three-game series' losing streak for Toronto.

The Isles have earned wins in two of their last three trips to Toronto.