The New York Islanders secured a sorely needed two points with a 5-3 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in their first game with Peter DeBoer as head coach.

Matthew Schaefer put the Islanders (43-31-5, 91 points) back in the lead after Toronto came back from 2-0 to tie it in the second period, tying the NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenseman in the process. Calum Ritchie had a multi-point game, as did Tony DeAngelo, who was back from a six-game injury-induced hiatus.

Artur Akhtyamov came under fire in his first NHL start, turning away 39 of 44 shots for the Maple Leafs (32-33-14, 78 points). Ilya Sorokin stopped just 13 of 16 at the other end.

DeBoer’s tenure got off to a spirited start. Ritchie capitalized on a Maple Leafs defensive breakdown on a delayed penalty, feeding the puck through the slot to Brayden Schenn, who batted it past a helpless Akhtyamov 2:08 in. Jean-Gabriel Pageau made it 2-0 less than three minutes later, beating a backtracking Max Domi to stuff in his own rebound.

Steven Lorentz responded 16 seconds later for the visitors, with Islanders defenseman Carson Soucy inadvertently colliding with Sorokin as Lorentz released a powerful wrist shot to make it 2-1.

After managing just 16 shots in their last outing against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Islanders recorded 24 shots in the first period alone.

Easton Cowan made no mistake when the Islanders ceded him a little too much space in the high slot on the power play, ripping it past Sorokin to make it 2-2 just 1:57 into the second period. The Leafs’ Luke Haymes, playing in his first NHL game, proceeded to hit the post seconds later.

Schaefer tied the NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenseman with his 23rd of the season, striding into the faceoff circle and firing under Akhtyamov to retake the lead for the home team later in the period.

Emil Heineman extended the Islanders’ lead back to two with a one-timer on their third power play of the game. Ritchie made it 5-2 in the third period on a two-man advantage.

Morgan Rielly nabbed a consolation goal with six minutes remaining. Haymes tallied his first career point on the play.

The win snapped the Islanders’ four-game losing streak. They have now won eight of their last 10 against the Maple Leafs.

–Field Level Media

Tre Jones scored 31 points, Collin Sexton had 27 and Leonard Miller recorded a career-high 26, fueling the visiting Chicago Bulls to a 119-108 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday.

Jones sank 9 of 14 shots from the floor and all 12 of his attempts from the free-throw line for the Bulls (31-49), who rode a strong finish to the third quarter en route to defeating the Wizards for the second time in three days. Chicago snapped a seven-game losing skid with a 129-98 victory over Washington on Tuesday.

Miller, who made 11 of 14 shots from the floor, added 11 rebounds to record his second double-double in three games.

The Bulls enjoyed a 68-50 edge in points in the paint and 26-18 advantage in fast-break points.

Washington rookie Will Riley collected 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Julian Reese recorded 16 points and 15 boards.

Leaky Black and Anthony Gill each scored 14 points for the undermanned Wizards (17-63), who dressed the league-minimum eight players on Thursday. The end result essentially was the same for Washington, which lost for the 24th time in 25 games.

Jamir Watkins drained a 3-pointer to pull Washington within one at 71-70 with 4:03 remaining in the third before Chicago ignited a 16-4 run to end the quarter. The Bulls made three straight layups to start the surge, and Jones capped it after converting at the rim following a behind-the-back pass from Rob Dillingham.

The Wizards trimmed their deficit to 10 points at 103-93 with 6:25 to play in the fourth quarter after Justin Champagnie drained a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run.

Sexton’s layup halted that surge, and the Bulls kept the Wizards at bay before Patrick Williams sank a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 117-98.

Prior to the game, Wizards coach Brian Keefe announced forward Alex Sarr is likely done for the season because of a toe injury,

Chicago’s Guerschon Yabusele sustained a sprained left shoulder in the third quarter and did not return to the game.

–Field Level Media