Game Preview: Islanders at Maple Leafs

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (0-0-0) AT TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (0-1-0)

7:30 PM | SCOTIABANK ARENA

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN, MSG+ ON DAZN

HOW TO LISTEN: 88.7FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | ISLES + UBS ARENA APP

New York Islanders hockey is back!

The Islanders kick off the 2026-27 season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night in Toronto.

Wednesday marks the season opener for the Islanders, but the second game of the season for Toronto, who fell 3-2 to Montreal on Tuesday night. William Nylander scored both Maple Leafs goals in the loss.

PROJECTED LINEUP

See the Islanders lines from Tuesday’s practice in Muskoka:

Simon Holmström - Bo Horvat - Kyle Palmieri
Matias Maccelli - Cal Ritchie - Brayden Schenn
Victor Eklund - JG Pageau - Emil Heineman
Ondřej Palát - Casey Cizikas - Anthony Duclair

Adam Pelech - Matthew Schaefer
Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock
Logan Stanley - Tony DeAngelo

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

Scott Mayfield, Kyle MacLean and Matt Kessel are the expected scratches, but check back after morning skate for any lineup updates.

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GOALIE MATCHUP

Ilya Sorokin and Anthony Stolarz are the expected goaltenders for Wednesday’s matchup.

Sorokin was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy, as the league’s best goaltender, last season, boasting a 29-24-2 record with a 2.68 GAA, .906 SV% and a league leading seven shutouts.

Stolarz is Toronto’s expected starter after Sergei Bobrovsky opened the season on Tuesday night. Stolarz was 10-10-3 with a 3.28 GAA and a .893 SV% last season.

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SCHAEFER VS MCKENNA

Wednesday’s matchup pits Matthew Schaefer and Gavin McKenna the 2025 and 2026 first-overall picks, respectively, against each other.

Schaefer is the NHL’s reigning rookie of the year, matching the NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenseman (23). The 19-year-old was named one of the Islanders Alternate Captains on Tuesday, marking him the youngest player in team history to wear a letter.

McKenna recorded 51 points (15G, 36A) in 35 games with Penn State University last season after recording 129 points (41G, 88A) in 56 games with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers in the year prior. McKenna did not record a point in his NHL debut, skating alongside John Tavares and Nylander.

TORONTO TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF

Toronto aggressively remade its roster over the offseason.

Newly-appointed GM John Chayka made a splash by acquiring Kirill Marchenko from Columbus on Monday in exchange for a package centered around Matthew Knies. Marchenko scored 31 goals in the 2024-25 season and 27 last year. Marchenko was subsequently extended for six years – beginning next season – and skated on a line with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic.

Defenseman Darren Raddysh was acquired after a breakout 22-goal, 70-point season in Tampa Bay. Bobrovsky was signed to a three-year deal.

The Leafs are looking to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season. Matthews recorded a career-low 53 points (27G, 26A) in 60 games in an injury-shortened year, but remains a threat every time he touches the puck, as he's a two-time 60-goal scorer.