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Comrie lifts Islanders past Maple Leafs

Dec 27, 2007 - 4:48 AM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) - Mike Comrie scored his second goal of the game with 9.6 seconds left in overtime to lift the New York Islanders to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday that spoiled the return of Jason Blake to Nassau Coliseum.

The Islanders extended their winning streak to four games and scored more than one goal in the first period for the first time since Opening Night.

They also overcame the absence of star goalie Rick DiPietro, who left after the first period with a knee injury.

Dubielewicz stepped in and stopped 23 of 24 shots, including several in overtime when the Islanders killed off a penalty on Richard Park.

"(DiPietro) twisted it a little in warmups and he thought he would be able to go," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "When you're called upon, you have to ready and (Dubielewicz) was ready tonight."

Moments after the penalty ended, Park stole the puck from Blake and took a shot that was stopped by Andrew Raycroft before Comrie put home the game winner.

"When you see your teammates force a play like that, you just got to go to the net hard," Comrie said. "The rebound was just sitting there for me."

Blake played five-plus seasons for the Islanders and set a career high with 40 goals last season before signing as a free agent with the Maple Leafs in the summer.

Blake, who has started slowly with just five goals and 16 assists, was booed early and often by Islander fans.

"I didn't have any expectations coming in," Blake said. "The fans have treated me great."

Blake was held off the scoresheet and had a shot glance off the crossbar in overtime before he committed the costly turnover.

"I think he turned the puck over an awful lot tonight probably because he's trying to make something happen here," Toronto coach Paul Maurice said.

Hilbert, Comrie and Bill Guerin scored first-period goals for the Islanders. They had just 13 first-period goals all season before Wednesday.

"We got pucks behind their defense," Comrie said. "We didn't try to do a whole lot and it helped our team."

Alexander Steen scored twice for the Maple Leafs, who played the sixth game of a seven-game road trip and have lost three of their last four games.

Raycroft kept the game tied at 3-3 when he made back-to-back saves on Mike Sillinger in the final minute of regulation.

The game turned into a battle of backup goaltenders after Toronto's Vesa Toskala was a late scratch with a groin injury and DiPietro was forced out after one period with a knee injury.

DiPietro, who has played in 33 of the Islanders' 35 games, will be re-evaluated on Thursday. Toskala is day-to-day.

"It's not a problem if he had to go in and play - he could have - but there was no point putting him in a backup role if you weren't going to start him, and that's why he was out," Maurice said of Toskala's injury.

Dubielewicz, the losing netminder in an 8-1 setback in Toronto on October 11, stepped in for DiPietro and had a scoreless second period before the Leafs tied it at 3-3 with a shorthanded goal by Steen at 1:15 of the period.

"We know we can beat (Dubielewicz), we know we can beat Ricky as well," Steen said. "The type of game we played, I don't think we can be too happy with ourselves."

Raycroft made his first start since November 24 in place of Toskala and stopped 24 shots, settling down after a shaky first period.

Steen opened the scoring off a centering pass from Matthew Stajan at 6:13 of the first.

New York tied it 45 seconds later when Chris Campoli's shot went off the back boards and caromed to Hilbert, who put it home for his sixth goal of the season.

Toronto's Mike Bell gave Toronto a 2-1 lead when he converted a behind-the-net pass from Darcy Tucker.

Comrie tied it at 2-2 when put a backhander past Raycroft at 16:20 on a goal in which DiPietro was credited with the second assist. Guerin scored off a scramble in front with 48 seconds left in the period.