Cowan, Stolarz push Maple Leafs past Islanders 2-1

TORONTO – Easton Cowan had a goal and an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the New York Islanders 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Colton Sissons also scored for Toronto (1-1-0), which got 26 saves from Anthony Stolarz.

Emil Heineman replied for New York (0-1-0). Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 shots.

The Maple Leafs fell 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens in their season-opener Tuesday, while the Islanders suited up for the club’s first game of 2026-27.

New York had the fresher legs and tilted the ice early, but Sissons redirected his first goal for Toronto at 7:14 of the first period off a Nick Paul setup before Cowan shovelled home a power-play rebound at 11:55.

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Reunited with fellow netminder Sergei Bobrovsky after winning the Stanley Cup together with the Florida Panthers in 2024, Stolarz remained perfect from there, including a big stop with his right pad on Anthony Duclair in the third, until Emil Heineman scored short-handed to break the shutout bid with 5:51 left in regulation.

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TAKEAWAYS

Maple Leafs: Stolarz was limited to just 26 games last season due to injury. The 32-year-old went 10-10-3 with an .893 save percentage and 3.28 goals-against average.

Islanders: New York defenceman Matthew Schaefer registered 23 goals in his banner rookie season and needs two more to overtake Bobby Orr for the second most by a teenage blueliner in NHL history.

KEY MOMENT

Cowan’s rebound goal on the man advantage came after Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly batted the puck down at the blue line to hold the zone before finding Jack Roslovic for the initial shot.

KEY STAT

Cowan recorded 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 22 playoff games for the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies in their run to last season’s Calder Cup title after the Maple Leafs missed the post-season for the first time in a decade.

COMING UP

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Maple Leafs: Host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Canadiens: Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2026.