NEW YORK -- It was just two weeks ago that goaltender Jonathan Bernier was winless through 11 starts and toiling in the minors on a conditioning assignment.

After a couple hiccups in his return to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he is starting to look like he's figuring things out.

Bernier turned aside 25 shots as both he and the Maple Leafs won for the third time in four games by holding off the New York Islanders in a 3-1 victory at Barclays Center on Sunday night.

The Islanders (19-12-5) entered the third period down two goals and cut the lead in half with 7:30 remaining when left winger Nikolay Kulemin scored, but Bernier shut the door, stopping 11 of 12 shots before left winger James van Riemsdyk scored into an empty net to seal a win that pushed the Maple Leafs to 6-2-1 in their past nine games.

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock was asked if his confidence in Bernier is growing.

"Sure, everyone talks about that, but it's about his confidence," Babcock said. "It's not about my confidence. If he's confident, I'm confident. If he's not confident, I'm not confident. If he's not confident, his teammates aren't confident. That's just the tough thing for the goaltenders, but in our sport or in football with the quarterback, it all comes down to that.

"When the goalie plays good, no one talks about him and when he doesn't play good, everyone talks about him. So, good for Bernie here today."

Bernier received all the support he would need during the first 3:13 of the second period, when center Tyler Bozak and left winger Michael Grabner scored 1:40 apart to give the Maple Leafs a 2-0 lead.

Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss was under siege throughout the game but made 35 saves to give his team a glimmer of hope in the third period.

"I thought he gave us a chance to win," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "All you ask from your goalies is to give you a chance. He held the fort for us. We got the one and still had plenty of time left but we couldn't get the equalizer."

Through two periods, the Maple Leafs held a 28-14 edge in shots, which was indicative of how they controlled the game territorially.

"We weren't managing the puck well, starting with myself," said Islanders center John Tavares, whose team has lost four of five. "We have to be a lot better. You're not going to dominate for 60 minutes in this league but you have to make it tough on the opponent. We just made it a little too easy. They made some plays and put us behind the 8-ball."

Grabner's goal in his first game against his former team since a Sept. 15 trade was the 100th of his career.

"I'm just trying to help out the team, score some goals," Grabner said. "I think milestones you look back after your career maybe, but right now it's just another goal."

The Maple Leafs (13-14-7) have a long way to go to reach a playoff spot in the East. If they have any chance of making a postseason push, Bernier will have to rediscover the consistency that made him one of the promising young goaltenders in the NHL two years ago.

"It was good for me to go down (to the AHL) and find my game," Bernier said. "I just wanted to take step by step going in the right direction and just make the save that I want to make, that I should make. At the end of the day, if you do that than the rest will come."

NOTES: Maple Leafs G James Reimer was in uniform after missing seven games with a groin injury. He dressed as the backup to G Jonathan Bernier. ... Maple Leafs D Frank Corrado was a healthy scratch. ... Maple Leafs LW Michael Grabner played in his first game vs. the Islanders since being traded by the club in September. Grabner spent the previous five seasons with New York. ... Islanders RW Kyle Okposo was in the lineup after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury. He took the place of RW Steve Bernier, who was a healthy scratch. ... Islanders G Jaroslav Halak was out with an upper-body injury.