Game Preview: NY Islanders vs Toronto Maple Leafs

LAST GAME

The NY Islanders were dominated in every aspect on Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks. The speed and tenacity of the Canucks were too much to handle, with the Islanders struggling to get their feet under them from the get-go. Vancouver got out to a three-goal lead before a Brock Nelson power play goal cut the deficit to two halfway through the second stanza. A Tyler Myers slap shot minutes later extended the Canucks lead to three once again, with the Isles ultimately falling 5-2.

The Toronto Maple Leafs ran wild on the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night in a 7-1 victory. Auston Matthews tallied his 31st goal of the season, and Mitch Marner had a four-point night. The Leafs have won each of their last four games.

HISTORICAL MATCHUP

The historical matchup in recent times between these two organizations speaks for itself. John Tavares will be booed profusely from the opening puck drop like always, with people around North America sharing different opinions on the matter. The two faced off a month ago today, with the Islanders blowing another late lead off a Morgan Reilly goal with seven seconds remaining in the third to send the game to OT. Tavares recorded his 1,000th point on the play, leading to the Leafs clearing the bench in celebration. The Islanders had the last laugh in OT, as Bo Horvat finished the job 46 seconds into the extra frame.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Oliver Wahlstrom has been drawn back into the lineup tonight with perhaps his most significant opportunity of the season, playing on the top line alongside Bo Horvat and Anders Lee. Casey Cizikas is listed as week-to-week, forcing Lane Lambert to jumble his lines. The Isles will look different on all four lines tonight as they look to fill the void.

It appears that Ilya Samsonov will get the nod for the Leafs between the pipes tonight in his first appearance since passing through waivers on Dec. 31. The Russian netminder has statistically been the worst goaltender in the NHL this season and will look to get back on track against a short-handed Islanders team.

PROJECTED LINES

NYI

Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Oliver Wahlstrom
Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Hudson Fasching
Simon Holmstrom - Mat Barzal - Kyle Palmieri
Matt Martin - JG Pageau - Cal Clutterbuck

Alexander Romanov - Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech - Scott Mayfield
Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorokin
Ken Appleby

TOR

Matthew Knies - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Tyler Bertuzzi - John Tavares - William Nylander
Nick Robertson - Max Domi - Calle Jankrok
Bobby McMann - David Kampf - Pontus Holmberg

Morgan Reilly - TJ Brodie
Simon Benoit - Jake McCabe
Mark Giordano - Timothy Liljegren

Ilya Samsonov
Martin Jones