UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders are at opposite ends of the standings, yet much closer in goal.

Curtis Joseph stopped 20 shots as Toronto edged the Islanders on Wednesday night, 2-1 for their sixth-straight win. But Kevin Weekes performed nearly as well, stopping 23 shots.

	Islanders goalie Kevin Weekes stops Toronto's Steve Thomas on Wednesday. Weekes finished with 23 saves.

"To me, Curtis Joseph was the first star of the game and Kevin Weekes was the second star," Islanders coach Butch Goring said, "and that's only because Joseph's team won."

Joseph was given a 1-0 lead just 1:38 into the game when forward Mike Johnson fired a shot wide from the right slot. Igor Korolev got the puck in the high right corner and sent a pass to the low slot where Sergei Berezin one-timed the puck past Weekes.

"Getting the lead is the key," Joseph said. "This way, we can just continue to play our normal game."

New York had scoring opportunities throughout the contest, but Toronto blocked 21 shots and 16 others missed the net.

"We had our chances," Islanders forward Claude Lapointe said. "We just couldn't bury them."

Lapointe took a 15-stitch cut over his right eye when he was clipped by the stick of Jonas Hoglund at 5:20 of the second period. He came back out for the third period and played with an eye shield.

"I felt they needed me," Lapointe said. "It wasn't like I had a broken leg. My vision was good and I thought I could help the team."

No penalty was called on the play by referee Dave Jackson.

"They missed it," Goring said.

The Islanders registered 40 hits, but as the game wound down, Weekes was pulled for an extra skater.

When Kenny Jonsson was hooked down by Toronto forward Mats Sundin in front of the Islanders bench, Hoglund swooped in and grabbed the loose puck and shot it into the empty net at 19:11.

"It's an iffy call," Goring said. "If you look at it from my side, you could scream. If you look at it from the other side, it's a good non-call."

Down by two goals, the Islanders refused to quit, and Dave Scatchard wound up putting the puck past Joseph for his first goal of the season with 26.1 seconds left. The Islanders pressed again and came close, but couldn't gain the tie.

"Cujo was the difference," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "It was our goaltending that kept them off the scoreboard."

Joseph wasn't upset at losing the chance for his fourth shutout this season.

"If you told me before the game we'd win 2-1, I'd say OK," Joseph said. "And then I'd say `Get on the bus, boys.'"

Weekes, a Toronto native, skated in the summer with both Joseph and backup Glenn Healy, and said that he had nothing but respect for both.

"As good as he is on the ice, Cujo is a class individual off the ice," Weekes said. "He and Glenn Healy both have been very supportive of me, even when I was going through my contract troubles with Florida. They've always had words of wisdom for me, and I have nothing but respect for both of them."

Goring said that he wanted to use the Maple Leafs as a guide to see how his team stacks up.

"I thought we played very well and we deserved a better fate," Goring said. "It's a good measuring stick, and it shows we've come a long way since Day 1."