Maple Leafs at Islanders preview

MAPLE LEAFS (9-6-4) at ISLANDERS (12-3-1)
7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, NHL.TV

The Islanders, who are 11-0-1 in their past 12, are expected to have forward Leo Komarov in the lineup for the first time since Oct. 17. Komarov (illness/neck) has missed nine games but was activated off injured reserve Tuesday.
Maple Leafs forward
Zach Hyman
will make his season debut; he had surgery for a torn ACL in April. The 27-year-old set NHL career-highs in goals (21) and points (41) last season.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has nine points (two goals, seven assists) during a four-game point streak. His 13 goals are tied for third in the NHL with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.
Islanders center Mathew Barzal has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"I really don't know what to expect with [Hyman]. I know he's going to work as hard as he possibly can; he's been out a long time, so we'll monitor that. [Kasperi Kapanen] is a speed, forecheck player, and John's (John Tavares) at the net and the guy who shoots it and he does his damage in the zone. They have to be a cycle line to be successful, and they're aware of that." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"Anytime you play a really good team like Toronto, it's easy to ramp it up a little bit. We know there's going to be a lot of energy in the building, and I know the boys are looking forward to it." -- Islanders forward Anders Lee

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Kasperi Kapanen
Ilya Mikheyev -- Alex Kerfoot -- Trevor Moore
Nic Petan -- Nicholas Shore -- Frederik Gauthier
Morgan Rielly -- Cody Ceci
Jake Muzzin -- Tyson Barrie
Travis Dermott -- Justin Holl
Frederik Andersen
Kasimir Kaskisuo
Scratched:Jason Spezza, Dmytro Timashov
Injured:Mitch Marner (ankle)

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Michael Dal Colle -- Derick Brassard -- Leo Komarov
Ross Johnston -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Noah Dobson, Otto Koivula
Injured:Tom Kuhnhackl (lower body), Andrew Ladd (knee), Matt Martin (lower body)

Status report

With Hyman returning, Spezza will be a healthy scratch. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in 10 games. … Cizikas and Clutterbuck each had a maintenance day Tuesday but will play. … Ladd returned from an extended conditioning stint with Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. He has not been activated off injured reserve.

Stat pack

Tavares has 99 points (52 goals, 47 assists) since joining the Maple Leafs prior to the start of last season. … Andersen is 7-1-1 in nine games against the Islanders; he is 3-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .938 save percentage on the road this season. … New York is 10-0-1 when it scores at least three goals.