Game Preview: Islanders at Maple Leafs

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (3-3-1) AT TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (3-3-2) 

7 P.M. | SCOTIABANK ARENA  

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN, MSG+ ON DAZN 

HOW TO LISTEN: 88.7 FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | 92.5FM THE BEACON | ISLES + UBS ARENA APP 

The New York Islanders return to Scotiabank Arena for the second time this season for a meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at 7 p.m.  

The Isles are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. While one point got away, it was a standout performance for goaltender Semyon Varlamov who made 18 saves on 19 shots in his second start of the year.  

Read a full game recap here 

Matias Maccelli continued his torrid start with the Islanders' lone goal in the first period and extended his point streak to five games. The 26-year-old has his highest point total through the opening seven games of a season in his career.  

The Maple Leafs settled for a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres in their last game on Thursday despite a 4-2 third period lead and a hat-trick from Kirill Marchenko.  

It was the second straight 5-4 loss for Toronto after they dropped a game to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday. The Leafs have allowed at least three goals in seven of their eight games this year.  

Auston Matthews has a six-game point streak with 13 points in that span. He’s the Leafs leader in goals (6), assists (7) and points (13).

PROJECTED LINEUP

Head Coach Pete DeBoer continued to shuffle the lines against Ottawa, particularly in the third period as Simon Holmström saw time with Ondřej Palat and JG Pageau and Emil Heineman saw shifts with Brayden Schenn and Victor Eklund. 

In the third period, Cal Ritchie didn’t play the final 11:30, Anthony Duclair didn’t play the last 9:25 and Matt Kessel was absent for the concluding 12:30. DeBoer said puck management and untimely penalties played a factor in ice time decisions. 

“The players make those decisions for me,” DeBoer said. “We had some puck management issues at different points, we took some penalties which you can’t do on the road so guys make those decisions when we get into those situations.” 

DeBoer’s lineup changes could be altered against the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Stay tuned for lineup updates following morning skate.

SEASON SERIES

The Maple Leafs lead the season series 1-0 after beating the Isles in their season opener 2-1.

Emil Heineman’s shorthanded goal in the third period was the Isles’ lone tally, but it was not enough to counteract first period goals from Colton Sissons and Easton Cowan. 

Remaining matchup: 

Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Islanders: Nov. 23, 2026, 7:30 p.m., UBS Arena

ISLES DEFENSE STANDS TALL

The Islanders have compiled a strong defensive start to the season and have allowed three goals or fewer in five of the first seven games.  

Excluding the shootout goal against Ottawa, the Isles have allowed 16 goals in seven games. It’s the fewest number of goals allowed in their first seven contests since 2003, according to Islanders statistician Eric Hornick.  

That record start is reflected in the way Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov have played as both Isles goaltenders have a goals-against average under 2.00.  

The Islanders have a 2.29 goals-against per game, which is the second best in the NHL. The Isles made several critical defensive plays against Ottawa including killing off a 4-on-3 power play in overtime.  

The Isles penalty kill went 4-for-4 against the Senators and Matthew Schaefer played 29:29 of time-on-ice, which is the third highest of his career.  

SCOUTING THE MAPLE LEAFS

The Leafs are one of three teams with multiple top 10 point producers across the league. Matthews’ 13 points are tied for fifth and William Nylander has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) which is tied for seventh in the NHL.  

The Maple Leafs have gotten key contributions from their young talents Cowan (3 G, 3 A) and 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna (2 G, 3 A) who was benched by head coach Jim Hiller for the final 32:54 against the Sabres.  

Toronto is first in the NHL on the penalty kill at 96.2 percent and are fifth best on the power play at 29.6 percent. However, they’ve shown some shakiness 5-on-5 and have given up 30.5 shots per game, which is fourth most in the league.  

As a result, they’ve gotten inconsistent goaltending from Sergei Bobrovksy – who made 30 saves in the loss to Buffalo – and Anthony Stolarz. Both goaltenders have a save percentage below .900 and a goals-against above 3.30.