NEW YORK _ Not even the angriest among the sell-out crowd of jilted fans on Thursday night at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum likely could have imagined it going so well for their Islanders.
Ex-captain John Tavares made his first return to his former home rink after bolting via free agency for a seven-year, $77 million deal with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was a miserable homecoming that had nothing to do with the often-profane chants.
The Islanders, with a three-goal second period and two goals from fourth-line center Casey Cizikas, who now has 19, thrashed the Maple Leafs, 6-1, before a sellout of 13,917.
It was a crucial win for the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders (37-19-7) as they moved two points ahead of the second-place Capitals, who visit on Friday night, after opening this five-game homestand with a 3-1 loss to the Flames on Tuesday night.
And it marked the Islanders' second dominant performance against the Maple Leafs after a 4-0 win at Toronto on Dec. 29 when center Mathew Barzal scored his second career hat trick. The teams play in the Islanders' home finale on April 1.
Robin Lehner stopped 34 shots while Garret Sparks made 31 saves for the Maple Leafs (39-21-4), who beat the visiting Oilers, 6-2, on Wednesday night.
The fans showed their spirited displeasure in many ways.
Some plastic snakes were hurled onto the ice during warmups, accompanied by loud booing whenever Tavares touched the puck. The Maple Leafs' arrival on the ice was preceded by "We Don't Need You" chants _ fans held signs saying the same _ as well as less-wholesome screaming. As he left the ice after warmups, an Islanders jersey was thrown at him.
Some fans wore Islanders No. 91 jerseys with Tavares' nameplate replaced by, among others, "Traitor," and "Pajama Boy." Outside, some Tavares jerseys were burned in garbage bins. Another fan ran over a Tavares jersey with an SUV.
Borrelli's Restaurant Cafe and Pizzeria, around the corner from the Coliseum on Hempstead Turnpike, had a "Banned: John Tavares Go Islanders!" sign in front.
"Of course, there's a lot of emotions that go through you," Tavares said before the game. "At the same time, I can only control what I can control. I tried to be open and honest with my decision."
Not even a classy video tribute at 9:59 of the first period, which was drowned out by booing and cursed chants, mollified the crowd. Tavares skated a lap after 90 seconds highlighting his nine seasons with the Islanders, including his community work, and raised his stick in appreciation to the crowd as players from both teams tapped their sticks in respect.
That only brought a "JT Sucks" chant, followed by "You're a Liar."
The Islanders turned a close game into a 4-1 lead through two periods, thanks to a potential Maple Leafs' equalizer being overturned.
The Islanders current captain, Anders Lee, finished off a rush by converting Brock Nelson's brilliant backhanded feed to make it 2-1 at 4:49. The crowd responded with a "That's Our Captain" chant.
The Maple Leafs thought they had tied the score at 2 at 7:12 as Mitch Marner skated the puck up ice after defenseman Nick Leddy whiffed on it at Toronto's blue line before feeding Zach Hyman off the left post.
Coach Barry Trotz successfully challenged that the play was offside, leaving him perfect on three offside challenges this season.
Cizikas scored the Islanders' sixth shorthanded goal off an unassisted rush at 13:40 to make it 3-1, eliciting the loudest, "We Don't Need You" chant.
Valtteri Filppula pushed it to 4-1 at 19:00 after Leo Komarov won an offensive zone faceoff and Andrew Ladd muscled the puck to the crease. And Cizikas, deflecting Leddy's blast from the left point, extended that to 5-1 just 33 seconds into the third period. Nelson made it 6-1 at 8:41 and the crowd chanted, "Who's Your Daddy?"
Tavares was on the ice for both goals in the opening period, first when Hyman, at the crease, slipped the puck under a scrambling Lehner at 13:33. But Tavares was also up ice when Anthony Beauvillier tied the score at 1 at 16:16 to finish a three-on-one rush as he received a give-and-go feed from Josh Bailey.
