Tavares topples Leafs with overtime beauty
Isles captain powers his way through Toronto’s defence as N.Y. digs out of 3-1 hole
When this Maple Leafs season began, there was optimism with the team based on its depth.
Then-coach Randy Carlyle spoke frequently of having three scoring lines and “rolling four lines.”
David Booth was considered an important depth player on this team, a guy who could play up the lineup. Booth was a bargain-basement former 30-goal scorer looking to regain his touch and with it, a big payday.
But only lately has Booth — too often overlooked for big minutes for David Clarkson most of the season — been given a real chance.
Booth scored the opener, his third goal in three games, on Monday night but the Leafs dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the New York Islanders.
“It feels better than when you don’t (produce),” said Booth. “The opportunity is there. You’re playing a little bit more minutes. It gets your confidence going a little bit. You handle the puck a little bit more when you play more . . . it’s nice when they’re going in.”
Despite blowing a 3-1 lead, fans at the Air Canada Centre appreciated the effort; it was far better than the Saturday debacle against the St. Louis Blues.
The Leafs had a revamped lineup: No Nazem Kadri, a healthy scratch as a disciplinary measure, and injuries to Stephane Robidas and Roman Polak made the blueline a struggle.
“There were some positive things, but when you get down to it, when you have a 3-1lead, that’s the part that stings a little bit,” said Leafs coach Peter Horachek. “I don’t like the penalties we took. We get a point, but we have to be able to finish that out. We have to be hungry enough to finish it.”
The game meant a lot more to the playoff-bound Islanders, who rallied from a two-goal deficit to force extra time. It was a singular effort by John Tavares, with his 33rd goal of the season, who plowed through the Leaf zone to score the winner on New York’s 43rd shot.
“No matter where teams are in the standings, you can’t take anyone for granted, especially on the road,” said Tavares. “We just stuck with it. I think we know we didn’t play our best first couple of periods and they did some good things. We just tried to put them on their heels and we seemed to skate better as the game wore on.”
Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped 39 shots. And Peter Holland, another depth player getting more ice time, also scored. It was his fourth game in a row registering a point. He was set up by Richard Panik and James van Riemsdyk on a line made necessary by Kadri’s benching.
Holland and Panik are younger players getting a long look-see in important roles.
But Booth has to be kicking himself that he couldn’t get the coach’s attention sooner.
“He wasn’t effective,” Horachek said of Booth’s earlier play. “Things weren’t getting accomplished. He works hard. Think that I had to talk to him about what he was trying to do when he had the puck. I think right now he seems to be in a zone where he’s able to win puck battles along the walls. He’s fast and strong and he’s taking pucks to the net and creating some chances from that. He’s had some success lately.
“Overall, he’s trending in the right way.”
Booth left the ice briefly in the second period when he fell on a skate and cut his stomach.
“I thought my intestines were coming out of my body, but they weren’t,” said Booth, who took a few stitches. “I could sense a burning feeling, so I was trying to get off.
“Better safe than sorry.”