Maple Leafs-Islanders: John Tavares Harpoons Toronto's Unbeaten Season

Well, Toronto Maple Leafs fans, you knew the team's unbeaten streak wouldn’t last forever. However, you surely thought your beloved Maple Leafs could beat the New York Islanders on their home ice, right?

Don’t get me wrong, the Maple Leafs gave it a good effort. They fought through two disallowed goals (which, for the record were the right calls) and dominated play for much of the game. In fact, during the second and third periods, the Maple Leafs out-shot the Islanders by a margin of 10-5 and 12-6, respectively.

Still, while the Maple Leafs played well tonight, it's hard to come to grips with the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs will not become the first undefeated team in NHL history...and they were so close!!!

In an 82-game season, every NHL team is bound to be the victim of a hot goaltender. Tonight, Islanders starter Dwayne Roloson was just that, stopping 29 of 30 shots on the night.

With the penalty to Maple Leafs defenseman Francois Beauchemin (who struggled all night) expiring just seconds before, New York Islanders forward Matt Moulson deposited his third goal of the season, backhanding a nice feed from John Tavares, behind Maple Leafs starter J.S. Giguere, at the 02:17 mark of the first period.

Toronto took over the game from that point, peppering Roloson with shot after shot, until Phil Kessel finally beat the Simcoe, Ontario native with a power play marker at the 17:55 mark of the third.

The Maple Leafs looked to have put two pucks past Roloson earlier in the game, but both goals were disallowed. Kris Versteeg’s goal was called back due to a high stick, while Colby Armstrong’s third period effort was called back after replays revealed that the puck did not cross the goal line.

The Maple Leafs survived a late game charge by the Islanders to force overtime, where defenseman Brett Lebda (who was playing in his first regular season game as a member of the blue and white) was called for goaltender interference at the 03:07 mark.

It didn’t take the Islanders long to capitalize on Lebda’s gaff, as John Tavares deposited a bullet of a slap shot past a partially screened J.S. Giguere (Beauchemin was sitting right in his sight line) at 03:26.

It marked the second goal of the season for Tavares, giving the Islanders their third win of the season (now own a 3-1-2 record) and handing the Maple Leafs their first loss (albeit in overtime) of the 2010-11 season.

For his part, Tavares was dominant in the face-off circle, winning 85.7 percent of battles and looking very dangerous in the offensive zone all night long.

While the Leafs did lose, there were plenty of brights spots, which should serve as great encouragement for the club despite the loss.

Phil Kessel scored his fifth goal of the season, giving him five in six games. Luke Schenn (who registered four shots on the night) continued to show great poise on the ice, gobbling up 22:20 of ice time, including 00:58 of power play time and 02:58 of penalty kill time.

Despite not scoring, Dion Phaneuf (who registered a team-high six shots on the night), was engaged offensively all game long and looked very dangerous on the power play.

Mikhail Grabovski continued to play tough in the corners and managed to fire four shots on Roloson on the night. Grabovski still hasn't scored a goal this season, but if he keeps doing the dirty work he has exhibited so far, it’s bound to come. This will only enhance the blue and white’s chances of winning.

In the end, a 2-1 loss to the Islanders was not the desired result, but Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson could not point a finger at anyone for letting up. For that reason, the Maple Leafs will be able to avoid Wilson’s wrath and keep their heads held high heading into their re-match against the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

It was a good effort and the Maple Leafs probably deserved a better fate.  It just wasn’t the Maple Leafs’ night.

Until next time,

Peace!