Game Preview: Islanders vs Maple Leafs

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (42-31-5) VS TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (32-32-14)

6:45 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH/STREAM: ESPN+/HULU

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The Pete DeBoer era begins on Thursday night, as the New York Islanders host the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena.

DeBoer was named the Islanders Head Coach on Sunday, as he looks to help spark a postseason push with four games left in the regular season.

The Isles (89 points) are in fifth place in the Metro, three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers (92 points) and Ottawa Senators (92 points) for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. They are also one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (90 points) and tied with the Detroit Red Wings (89 points) and Washington Capitals (89 points). New York has one game in-hand on Washington.

The Isles are also looking to snap a four-game losing streak, their first four-game slide of the season. Most recently,

New York lost 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes in their final road game of the season on Saturday night. Marc Gatcomb, Max Shabanov and Anders Lee scored the Isles’ goals and Ilya Sorokin made 36 saves on 40 shots in the loss.

PROJECTED LINES 

Here is how the Islanders lined up at practice on Wednesday. Check back after Thursday’s morning skate for any updates to the lineup. 

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Simon Holmstrom 
Brayden Schenn – Mathew Barzal – Cal Ritchie 
Max Shabanov – JG Pageau – Emil Heineman 
Ondrej Palat – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb  
Anthony Duclair, Kyle MacLean 

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock 
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo 
Carson Soucy – Scott Mayfield 
Adam Boqvist, Isaiah George, Alexander Romanov 

Ilya Sorokin 
David Rittich 

DEANGELO AND CIZIKAS RETURN TO PRACTICE

Tony DeAngelo and Casey Cizikas joined the Islanders at practice on Wednesday.

DeAngelo skated on a pair with Adam Pelech as a full participant in his first full practice since he suffered the lower body injury on Mar. 24. The Isles defenseman has missed six consecutive games and is a game-time decision, according to DeBoer. DeAngelo has 33 points (5G, 28A) and ranks fifth on the team with 67 blocked shots this season.

Cizikas joined the Islanders after taking two maintenance days and centered a line with Ondrej Palat and Marc Gatcomb. Cizikas has 17 points (9G, 8A) and ranks third on the team with 149 hits this season.

DEBOER’S FIRST GAME BEHIND ISLES BENCH

DeBoer will make his debut behind the Islanders bench on Thursday night.

DeBoer has coached 1,261 regular season games in stints with the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. He is 662-446-152 in 1,261 regular season games all-time. His 662 wins rank 18^th all-time in NHL history.

PAGEAU POINTS

JG Pageau reached 400 career points (175G, 225A) with an assist against the Hurricanes on Saturday. He has earned 218 (88G, 130A) of his 400 NHL points with the Islanders.

Pageau has three points (1G, 2A) in his last four games and 34 points (16G, 18A) this season.

STELLAR SCHAEFER

Matthew Schaefer assisted on Lee’s goal to make it 4-3 on Saturday. It was his 58^th point (22G, 36A) of the season, which passed Phil Housley (57) for the most by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history, according to NHL Stats.

Schaefer, who has 22 goals this season, is still one tally away from tying Brian Leetch for the most goals by a rookie defenseman in NHL history, per NHL Stats.

The 18-year-old's 58 points are tied for second on the Islanders and tied for second among NHL rookies this season.

SEASON SERIES

This is the third and final regular season meetings between the Isles and Maple Leafs this year. New York is 2-0-0 in the season series, with a 3-1 win in the most recent game between the two teams on Mar. 17.

MAPLE LEAFS NOTES

The Maple Leafs enter Thursday night on the second half of a back-to-back set and have dropped their last three games. They fell 4-0 to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. Anthony Stolarz started the game in net before exiting with an injury in the first period.Joseph Woll made 14 saves on 17 shots in the relief appearance and loss.

William Nylander has 10 points (3G, 7A) in his last 10 games and leads Toronto with 73 points (26G, 47A) this season. Nylander has four points (2G, 2A) in the last four games against the Islanders but has been held scoreless in the last two games against the New York squad.

John Tavares leads the Maple Leafs with 13 points (7G, 6A) in the team's last 10 contests. Tavares, who played nine seasons with the Islanders before signing with Toronto in the summer of 2018, ranks second on the team with 68 points (30G, 38A) this year.

Matthew Knies was held scoreless against the Capitals, but tallied four points (2G, 2A) against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Knies ranks third on the Maple Leafs with 64 points (23G, 41A) this campaign.

Stolarz (lower-body) is considered day-to-day after his injury early in the first period against the Capitals. He is 10-10-3 with a 3.29 GAA and .893 SV% this season.

Auston Matthews (lower-body) suffered a season ending MCL tear and quad contusion against the Anaheim Ducks on Mar. 12. Matthews has 53 points (27G, 26A) in 60 games this season.

Toronto (78 points) sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and are eliminated from the 2026 playoff race.

The Maple Leafs’ power-play (20.4%) ranks 17^th in the NHL this season.

Toronto’s penalty kill (82.5%) ranks third in the league and hasn’t allowed a goal in the last three contests.