Steven Lorentz, Easton Cowan and Morgan Rielly scored for the Maple Leafs (32-33-14), who have lost four straight and have been eliminated from playoff contention. They lost 4-0 at the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Artur Akhtyamov made 39 saves, including 22 in the first period, in his first NHL start and second game.
“It feels unbelievable. It was my first game. I was so excited,” Akhtyamov said. “I think it was a good experience for me. Thank you, coaching staff, for this opportunity.”
Brayden Schenn gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 2:08 of the first period. On a delayed penalty, Bo Horvat dove in the slot to get the puck to Ritchie, who found Schenn at the top of the crease for the finish into an open net.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau extended the lead to 2-0 at 4:55. He poked in the puck behind Akhtyamov after the goalie stopped his initial attempt at the right post.
“We knew they were going to come,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “They came hard in the first and shot everything at the net, and we didn’t recover pucks and make a play to get out of there and got hemmed in a little bit.”
Lorentz cut it to 2-1 at 5:11, beating Sorokin with a wrist shot from the left circle that got inside the left post.
Cowan tied it 2-2 on the power play at 1:57 of the second period. He scored with a wrist shot from the top of the slot with Sorokin screened.
Schaefer then gave New York a 3-2 lead at 9:39 when he put a wrist shot through the five-hole from the left circle. With his 23rd goal, Schaefer tied Brian Leetch (1988-89) for the most in a season by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.