Maple Leafs at Islanders preview

MAPLE LEAFS (39-20-4) at ISLANDERS (36-19-7)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, TSN4, NHL.TV

Tavares, chosen by the Islanders with the No. 1 pick of the 2009 NHL Draft, signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2018. He had 621 points (272 goals, 349 assists) during nine seasons as the Islanders' top center and was their captain from 2013-14 through last season.
Toronto will be seeking its fourth straight win following a 6-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. The Maple Leafs are one point behind the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.
New York, which is tied in points with the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division, won its first game against Tavares and the Maple Leafs, 4-0 at Scotiabank Arena on Dec. 29. Islanders center Mathew Barzal had a natural hat trick.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has six points (three goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak.
Islanders forward Josh Bailey has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past six games.

They said it

"I think it is something he (John Tavares) needs to put to bed and get on with it. The thing about fans is they pay their money and get to say whatever they want. He's a good man. He was good for their franchise. He's great for our franchise. He made a decision to come home. I don't know if anyone can fault you for that." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"Obviously there's a lot of emotions today, but it should be a cool game. I just have a hard time believing [the Coliseum] can get any louder. But we've moved on (from Tavares). It's all outside buzz. We don't think about this whatsoever. It's another game. What we're thinking about is they're a great team. Tavares is a great player. We've got to shut them down." -- Islanders goalie Robin Lehner

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau -- William Nylander -- Connor Brown
Trevor Moore
-- Frederik Gauthier -- Tyler Ennis
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Muzzin -- Nikita Zaitsev
Martin Marincin
-- Justin Holl
Garret Sparks
Frederik Andersen
Scratched:Igor Ozhiganov
Injured:Nazem Kadri (concussion), Jake Gardiner (lower body), Travis Dermott (shoulder)

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Jordan Eberle
Andrew Ladd -- Mathew Barzal -- Leo Komarov
Anthony Beauvillier -- Valtteri Filppula -- Josh Bailey
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Robin Lehner
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl, Thomas Hickey, Luca Sbisa
Injured: None

Status report

Marincin was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League after Dermott was injured Wednesday. Dermott is expected to miss at least four weeks. … Mayfield will play after being scratched from a 3-1 loss against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Stat pack

Tavares has five points (three goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak. … Barzal has four goals in four games against the Maple Leafs, tied for his most against any NHL team.