3 Takeaways: Isles Shut Out By Maple Leafs 3-0

The New York Islanders losing streak hit six games on Sunday night, as the Isles were shut out 3-0 by the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena.
Mitch Marner had a pair of goals, including the shorthanded game-winner in the first period, while Ondrej Kase also scored for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll made 20 saves for his first-career shutout in his second-career game for Toronto, while Ilya Sorokin stopped 37-of-40 for the Islanders.
With the loss, the Islanders have lost six games in a row in regulation for the first time since Dec. 2-13, 2010.
"We're not concerned, we know what we're into. With that group of guys, we've been through a lot in the past two years, a lot of adversity," JG Pageau said. "Obviously we want to win every night, at this point, we have to take what we've done well in those games and keep pushing together. The only way we're going to get out of it is together and with this group of guys, we're a solid group and I know there's a lot of character and we can get out of it forsure."

ISLES SHUT OUT FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON

The offense has been hard to come by for the Islanders on their recent slump, who have six total goals on their six-game losing streak - and been shut out twice over that span.
The Islanders, playing without a host of regulars who are in COVID-19 protocol, were outshot 40-20 on Sunday night, and were unable to sustain an offensive rhythm. The Isles were outshot 12-6 in the opening period, including a nearly 10-minute stretch without a shot on goal.
MAPLE LEAFS 3, ISLANDERS 0
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"It hasn't been easy, we're not looking for excuses," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We're just trying to win a hockey game. Last night we played well enough to get a point at least. Tonight we didn't play as well. We were fine in the first and really they had some zone time, but we were able to manage it a bit. We didn't generate enough, especially after we gave up the shorthanded goal we got a little bit on our heels here."
It was a consistent theme throughout the game, where the Islanders chances were few and far between. Despite being outshot 25-13 through 40 minutes, the Islanders were still only down 1-0 entering the third period.
Anthony Beauvillier, returning to the lineup after missing Saturday's game due to a false positive COVID-19 test, had the Islanders best chance of the game in the final frame. Beauvillier was sprung on a breakaway, but had the puck roll off his stick as he looked to go forehand-backhand on a sprawled out Woll.
The missed chance proved costly, as Kase made it 2-0, burying a David Kampf centering feed at 2:00 shortly after. Marner effectively iced the contest with his second of the game at 13:29, finalizing the 3-0 scoreline.
"We think we're going to get something going our way, it hasn't been and it's been difficult," Trotz said of the near-misses like Beauvillier's during this snake-bit stretch. "No question. We needed something to jump on."

ISLES GIVE UP THIRD SHORTHANDED GOAL:

After not allowing a shorthanded goal during the 2020-21 regular season the Islanders have allowed three through 15 games this season.
The latest came from Marner at 3:31 of the first period of Sunday's affair. With the Islanders icing four forwards in a four-on-three power play, Marner snuck behind the Islanders last man, takin a stretch pass from Jake Muzzin and beating Ilya Sorokin with a backhander blocker side.
"We're trying to score some goals here, so we put our best people out there," Trotz said. "They've got to execute, that's on them a little bit to make sure we execute that and see if we can get something going here."
The Islanders power play, which snapped an 0-for-15 skid on Saturday, went 0-for-3 with the man advantage on Sunday night, generating three shots on goal. Trotz said he'd like to see sharper execution and decision-making on the man advantage.
One positive for the Islanders was the team's penalty kill, which went 3-for-3 against the league's seventh-ranked power play. The shorthanded unit was able to give the Islanders some momentum in the second period and was able to hold Toronto to just two shots on goal on the power play.

NELSON LEAVES GAME:

Brock Nelson left Sunday's game at the end of the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Nelson collided with Jake Muzzin in the Toronto zone with 2:19 to play in the period.
Nelson's absence was the latest in a string of bad luck for the Islanders that began with Ryan Pulock's lower-body injury on Monday and has carried through COVID protocol designations to Josh Bailey, Kieffer Bellows, Andy Greene, Ross Johnston, Anders Lee and Adam Pelech. Anthony Beauvillier also briefly wound up in COVID protocol via a false positive on Saturday, but was back on the ice on Sunday night.
Without Nelson, the Isles leading goal scorer, Barry Trotz was forced to reconfigure his lines mid-game. The Islanders coach did not have an immediate update on Nelson after the contest.
"It is what it is, we just have to come ready to play with whoever is out there," Matt Martin said. "Obviously this isn't what we envisioned coming into this season with our record where it's at and with all of the things that have been thrown at us as of late. At the end of the day we need each other, that's everybody, Hutton, Salo, Andreoff, Panik and we just have to find a way, keep battling, keep grinding and dig ourselves out of this thing. It hasn't been ideal, it hasn't been what we wanted, but all we have here is each other and we just have to keep pushing forward."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders have two days off before hosting the New York Rangers at UBS Arena on Wednesday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.