Matthews deflected Nylander’s pass in front with just under four minutes remaining to lift the playoff-bound Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night.
”Very good forecheck by (Zach) Hyman to free the puck up and I was able to sneak in there backdoor,” Matthews said. ”It was good for (Nylander) to see that play and make it, so great for both those guys to create space, get the puck and I just tapped it.”
It was Matthews’ 31st goal of the season and broke the fourth tie of the game.
”A good two points for us,” he said. ”Probably not a fun game for coaches but more a fun game for the players.”
Mitch Marner and Nazem Kadri each had a goal and an assist, and Nikita Zaitsev and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots to help the Maple Leafs win for the eighth time in 10 games and extend a franchise record with their 47th win.
Toronto, which clinched a postseason berth when Florida lost in overtime at Ottawa on Thursday night, is all but locked into third place in the Atlantic Division.
”It’s nice that we’ve clinched and now we just want to get ready and focused for the playoffs www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dontae-johnson-jersey ,” Nylander said.
Anthony Beauvillier had a goal and an assist, and Johnny Boychuk, Brock Nelson and John Tavares also scored for the Islanders, who lost for the 15th time in 18 games (3-11-4). Jordan Eberle had two assists and Christopher Gibson finished with 27 saves.
”It was a good hockey game,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. ”It was exciting and really, for a 5-4 game it was pretty well-played. … Yeah, a little bit of puck luck would be nice. It was a heck of a game. Guys battled but just fell short.”
Van Riemsdyk gave the Maple Leafs their first lead of the game – at 4-3 – as he put in the rebound for his 36th at 2:01 of the third.
Tavares tied it for the fourth time as he beat Andersen from the right doorstep for his 34th at 6:28. Tavares now has 80 points, reaching that number for the first time since he had 86 in 2014-15.
”We didn’t want the puck in our net as much as it was tonight,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. ”That’s the way it went and we just had to find a way to keep grinding.”
Trailing 2-1 after one period Vinny Curry Color Rush Jersey , the Maple Leafs tied the score at 7:52 of the second as Zaitsev’s pass deflected off Islanders forward Mathew Barzal’s stick and past Gibson for the defenseman’s fifth.
Nelson put New York back in front on an odd-man rush as he got a pass across the slot from Andrew Ladd and beat Andersen from the right faceoff dot for his 19th with 9:15 left.
Marner then tied it again as he deflected Jake Gardiner’s shot in front for his 22nd with 2:42 to go in the second.
Beauvillier got the Islanders on the scoreboard with just under eight minutes remaining in the first. Eberle got the puck near the left side of the goal, skated to the corner and sent a pass in front to Beauvillier, who put it past Andersen for his 18th. The goal withstood a Maple Leafs challenge for goalie interference.
Toronto tied it with 3:38 left, just 7 seconds after Anders Lee was whistled for slashing, as Kadri tipped the puck out of the air in front off a pass from Marner for his 31st.
Boychuk put the Islanders back in front on a power play with 1:26 to go in the opening period as he got a pass from Beauvillier near the blue line and sent a one-timer through traffic past Andersen for his sixth.
NOTES: Marner has five goals and 11 assists during his points streak. … Kadri has eight goals and nine points in his last 12 games. … The Maple Leafs swept the three-game season series. … Zaitsev’s goal marked the fourth straight game an Islanders player deflected the puck into his own net. Adam Pelech did it Saturday against the Blackhawks, and Brandon Davidson in each of the last two – against Florida on Monday and at Ottawa on Tuesday. … Lee had an assist on Tavares’ goal, giving him a career-high 22 this season. He also has career highs with 39 goals and 61 points.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Host Winnipeg on Saturday night.
Islanders: At New Jersey on Saturday night.
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OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors can achieve a piece of history Tuesday when they look to close out the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Warriors bounced back from a 119-100 thumping at New Orleans in Game 3 with an equally convincing 118-92 romp in Game 4, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Golden State can advance to its fourth straight Western Conference finals with a Game 5 win at home Logan Morrison Minnesota Twins Jersey , where it has won 14 consecutive playoff games, one shy of the NBA record.
The Chicago Bulls set the standard of 15 straight home wins from April 1990 to May 1991.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr went with a new starting lineup in Game 4, inserting Andre Iguodala alongside All-Stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green for the first time in Durant’s two seasons with Golden State.
The result was a 17-4 game-opening burst that created a lead the Warriors never came close to relinquishing.
“You’re on the road and threatened, you put your five best guys out there,” Kerr explained. “To start like that sets a great tone.”
The Warriors dominated the game both offensively and defensively, the latter having been a key to their run to two championships in the last three seasons.
Golden State has won its last nine playoff games — four this season, five last year — when holding the opponent below 100 points www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dalton-schultz-jersey , a streak that dates to Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals when Cleveland prevailed 93-89 to claim the title.
The Warriors, who have held the home-court advantage in every playoff series in which they’ve participated since Kerr took over as coach for the 2014-15 season, have won Game 5 (always at home) eight of the last nine times a series has reached a fifth game.
Again, the only loss was in the 2016 Finals when the Cavaliers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to stun the defending champs.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, have a bit of positive history to call upon in their quest to stay alive and perhaps advance past the second round for the first time ever.
Known then at the Hornets and down 3-1 in the best-of-seven, New Orleans won 93-91 at Philadelphia in the Eastern semifinals in 2002 — the first year of the New Orleans franchise — to force a Game 6, which they lost at home to the 76ers 107-103.
With their bench having been outscored 134-95 in the four games, the Pelicans have burned their starters big minutes Chad Thomas Color Rush Jersey , with Anthony Davis (39.3) and Jrue Holiday (38.2) leading the series in minutes played.
New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry had that in mind when he called off a scheduled workout on Monday in Oakland.
“We do have guys that are playing heavy minutes,” he explained. “Really, all the starters are playing real heavy minutes. I thought it would be a good idea today to let their minds rest, their bodies rest.”
The Pelicans have played their best in the series when rested.
The clubs got two days off in Oakland after Golden State’s 123-101 victory in Game 1. The Pelicans rebounded with a strong effort in Game 2, falling just 121-116 on the road.
Then after two more days off, New Orleans was re-energized at home and responded with its 119-100 triumph.
The teams were then rushed back from a Friday night to a Sunday afternoon for Game 4, during which the Pelicans shot just 4 of 26 on 3-pointers after having scorched the nets for 14 of 31 in the Game 3 win.
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