TORONTO - Tyler Bozak scored the shootout winner as the Toronto Maple Leafs edged the New York Islanders 4-3 at Air Canada Centre on Thursday night.

Auston Matthews tipped a Jake Gardiner shot to tie it 3-3 with 3:29 remaining in the third, but later left the game favouring his right side after taking a hit from Cal Clutterbuck and not return. The 20-year-old missed six games in December with a concussion and another four games with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly had the other Maple Leafs goals. Toronto (38-20-5) has now won eight straight at home. Frederik Andersen made 32 saves for the win.

Ryan Pulock, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders (29-26-7) while Jaroslav Halak turned aside 28 shots in the loss. New York, which entered the night a point out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, drops to 4-6-2 since the all-star break and is now 13-15-3 on the road this season.

With his three points, Barzal now has a team-leading 65 points and a 14-point lead over Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL's rookie scoring race.