Islanders end Leafs winning streak with overtime victory
TORONTO The Toronto Maple Leafs think they should be the NHLs last unbeaten team. Instead, they find themselves with an overtime loss in the standings after John Tavares took advantage of a power play in the extra period to give the New York Islanders a 2-1victory on Monday. The game featured three controversial calls and they all went against Toronto.
The last one was a goaltender interference penalty to Brett Lebda just 19 seconds before Tavares onetimed a shot past Jean-Sebastien Giguere to end the game. Leafs coach Ron Wilson labelled the penalty in overtime marginal and was also disappointed with the two goals the team had called back in regulation. A couple calls when completely against us, said Wilson. At this point, (its) crying over spilled milk. Theres nothing you can do. The Toronto players did their best to put a positive spin on a game that saw them score late in the third period to salvage a point giving them nine of a possible 10 in a surprisingly strong start to the season. However, there was also a strong hint of frustration. Kris Versteeg was the first Leafs player to beat Dwayne Roloson, but his goal late in the second period was waved off because he was ruled to have knocked the puck down with a high stick prior to scoring. Replays showed the puck was not above his shoulder. In the third period, Colby Armstrong appeared to score from behind the net but a lengthy video review showed the puck never crossed the goalline. What upset the Leafs most is the fact Tavares covered the puck in the crease with his hand at the end of the sequence, but the referees didnt award them a penalty shot. Its just the way the game goes, said Lebda. Everything was a close call today. It was up and down . . . the refs are doing the best they can and theyre going to make mistakes like we do. Added captain Dion Phaneuf: Thats the leagues job. Its out of our hands. Wilson was much more direct. The veteran coach thought his team deserved a better fate on three calls and described what he didnt like about each one. On Versteegs waived off goal: I find it strange that a linesman behind the play made the call. Youre not really sure if it was a high stick or not, and it wasnt. On the Armstrong play where Tavares grabbed the puck: They rule it no goal, but they dont remember his hand was on the puck. On Lebdas penalty in overtime: The call in overtime after clearly I thought they werent going to call anything, and that was a marginal call, (especially) after you see (Nikolai) Kulemin get hauled down in the neutral zone off of a faceoff. Lost in the final result was the fact Tavares scored for a second straight game after returning from a minor concussion.
