Game Preview: Islanders vs Maple Leafs

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (22-15-4) VS TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (19-15-6)

7 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

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

The New York Islanders will look to bounce back on Saturday, as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena.

The Isles are coming off a 7-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Thursday afternoon. Matthew Schaefer and Cal Ritchie found the back of the net in the defeat. David Rittich made nine saves on 14 shots and Marcus Hogberg replaced Rittich in the third period and stopped five of the seven shots he faced in his season debut.

McWARD RECALLED, WILL PLAY VS MAPLE LEAFS

Cole McWard will make his New York Islanders debut on Saturday night.

The defenseman, who was recalled from the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday morning, is slated to skate on a pairing with Scott Mayfield. McWard, a right-handed defenseman, will play on the right side, with Mayfield, also a right-hander, playing on his off side.

Saturday will mark McWard’s first game with the Islanders and first NHL game since Nov. 28, 2023 with the Vancouver Canucks.

PROJECTED LINES

Here is how the Islanders lined up at practice on Friday at UBS Arena.

Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Emil Heineman
Max Shabanov – JG Pageau – Max Tsyplakov
Jonathan Drouin – Cal Ritchie – Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatomb

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Scott Mayfield – Cole McWard

SOROKIN UPDATE

Ilya Sorokin (IR) joined the Islanders at practice on Friday for the first time since the team announced he’s dealing with a nagging injury. Sorokin has missed five games and last played in the 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 19.

The 30-year-old will not start against the Maple Leafs, but is expected back up and then to return to the crease against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Sorokin is 12-10-2 with a 2.55 GAA, a .910 SV% and three shutouts this season.

HORVAT OUT

Bo Horvat missed practice on Friday, and Head Coach Patrick Roy ruled him out until he is reevaluated at the end of the week.

The Canadian forward exited the game in the third period and did not return after he collided with Utah’s Sean Durzi.

Horvat leads the Isles with 33 points (21G, 12A) in 36 games played this season.

WARREN RETURNED

Marshall Warren was returned to the Bridgeport Islanders on loan, the Islanders announced on Friday morning.

The defenseman played eight NHL games for the Islanders and notched three assists, seven shots on goal, seven hits and five blocked shots, averaging 11:29 TOI.

RITTICH TO START AGAINST MAPLE LEAFS

David Rittich is expected to get the nod between the posts against the Maple Leafs. Rittich is 3-4-1 with a 2.80 GAA, a .917 SV% and one shutout all-time against Toronto. Rittich is 10-5-2 with a 2.46 GAA, a .909 SV% and two shutouts this season.

SCHAEFER SCORES

Matthew Schaefer scored a power-play goal in the 7-2 loss on Tuesday night. At 18 years and 118 days old, Scheafer became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to eclipse 10 career goals.

This accomplishment came one game after he became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to reach 25 career points.

Schaefer is up to 26 points (10G, 16A) in his rookie campaign.

SHABANOV POINT STREAK

Max Shabanov enters Saturday’s contest on a career-best three-game point streak. The 25-year-old forward has four points (1G, 3A) in that stretch.

Shabanov has 14 points (4G, 14A) through 28 games in his rookie season.

SEASON SERIES

This is the first of three meetings between the Islanders and Maple Leafs this season.

New York went 6-4-0 against Toronto in the last three seasons.

MAPLE LEAFS NOTES

Toronto is entering Saturday's contest on a two-game win streak. They shut out the New Jersey Devils 4-0 on Tuesday and most recently defeated the Winnipeg Jets in a 6-5 thriller on Thursday.

Auston Matthews earned four points (3G, 1A) against the Jets in his return from a one-game absence. Matthews passed Islanders’ Hall of Famer, Pat LaFontaine, for the most hat tricks (14) by a United States born player. The 28-year-old forward leads the Maple Leafs with 18 goals and is three goals away from passing Mats Sundin to become Toronto’s all-time leading goal scorer.

Mathew Knies and former Islander John Tavares are on five-game points streaks. Knies has seven points (4G, 3A) and Tavares has six points (1G, 5A) in this stretch.

William Nylander (day-to-day) did not skate at Toronto’s morning skate on Saturday and is expected to miss his fourth straight game. Nylander has missed the Maple Leafs’ last three games with injury. The 29-year-old forward leads Toronto is scoring with 41 points (14G, 27A) in 33 games this season. Nylander has been strong against Metropolitan Division opponents this season. He has 16 points (7G, 9A) and a plus-five rating in 10 games against such contests this year.

The Maple Leafs own the 22nd best power-play percentage in the NHL at 16.8%. However, they have converted on the power-play in their last four games.

Toronto’s penalty kill ranks fifth in the NHL at 83.5% this season, but they stepped up to first at 92.9% in December.