TORONTO — The Islanders had a bad Wednesday.
After finding out they will be without starting goalie Jaroslav Halak for the next six weeks due to a lower-body injury, the Isles went out and lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Maple Leafs.
William Nylander scored the tying goal late in regulation and Nikita Soshnikov had the only goal of the shootout to lift the Maple Leafs to the victory.
John Tavares scored his 199th career goal, and Nick Leddy and Ryan Strome also scored for the Islanders. Thomas Greiss, who likely will get the bulk of the starts with Halak out, finished with 33 saves.
The Isles snapped a four-game winning streak, are now 11-2-2 in their last 15 and remained three points behind the Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand.
Halak left the Islanders’ 2-1 win over the Penguins on Tuesday night at Barclays Center with 4:22 remaining with an apparent groin injury.
Zach Hyman and Morgan Rielly also scored in regulation and Garret Sparks stopped 24 shots in his second straight start for the Maple Leafs, who had lost six in a row (0-5-1) — including the last five by one goal. Toronto also won for just the third time in 16 games (3-11-2).
Strome gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead with 5:19 remaining in the third period, his shot trickling between Sparks’ pads before crossing the goal line.
Nylander, who scored his second goal in only his sixth NHL game, knocked in a rebound past Greiss to tie it with 1:13 left in regulation.
Tavares opened the scoring with a breakaway goal early in the first, his 25th goal this season. The Islanders’ captain picked off Nazem Kadri’s pass at his own blue line, broke free of panicked defenders and then beat Sparks in alone with his second attempt on goal.
Hyman followed with his second career goal moments later. The 23-year-old, who scored his first NHL goal on Monday night, shoveled a rebound past Greiss following a point shot from Leafs defenseman Martin Marincin.
Marincin was moved to Toronto’s top pair for the game after Matt Hunwick was shut down with season-ending sports hernia surgery. Hunwick’s early replacement for Wednesday’s game, Viktor Loov, was also forced out with injury and was replaced by 26-year-old TJ Brennan, who was playing his first NHL game this season.
Rielly gave the Leafs their first lead midway through the second, beating Greiss with a power-play goal from high in the slot. Rielly was set up on the play by Kadri, who deftly waited for the trailing Rielly to find his way into the offensive zone.
Leddy tied it with just more than seven minutes remaining in the second, going end-to-end with the puck before beating Sparks with a wrist shot.