Islanders face Maple Leafs without John Tavares
The New York Islanders bring a strong defensive start into their matchup against a Toronto Maple Leafs team missing John Tavares to a lower-body injury, according to NHL.com.
Stellar Goaltending Anchors the Islanders Defense
The Islanders have allowed three goals or fewer in five of their first seven games to start the season. Excluding a shootout goal against the Ottawa Senators, the team has surrendered just 16 goals across seven contests. Islanders statistician Eric Hornick notes that this defensive stretch marks the fewest goals allowed by the franchise in its first seven games since 2003.
Goaltenders Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov fuel this early success, as both netminders carry goals-against averages under 2.00. The team overall yields 2.29 goals-against per game, ranking second best across the National Hockey League. Recent defensive efforts include successfully killing off a crucial 4-on-3 power play in overtime against Ottawa. During that same matchup, Matthew Schaefer logged 29:29 of time-on-ice, marking the third-highest ice time total of his career.
Maple Leafs Attack Without Tavares
Toronto enters the matchup dealing with both high-powered offensive production and notable lineup absences. The Maple Leafs announced that John Tavares is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Even without Tavares, Toronto remains one of just three NHL teams featuring multiple top-10 point producers.
Auston Matthews paces the club with 13 points, tying him for fifth in the league. William Nylander follows closely with 12 points, including five goals and seven assists, tying for seventh overall. Secondary contributions have come from young talents Cowan, who has notched three goals and three assists, and 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna, who contributed two goals and three assists despite being benched by head coach Jim Hiller for the final 32:54 of a recent game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Special Teams Strengths Meet Five-on-Five Vulnerabilities
Special teams remain a distinct advantage for Toronto, which ranks first in the NHL on the penalty kill at 96.2 percent and fifth on the power play at 29.6 percent. However, structural cracks have appeared during 5-on-5 play. The Maple Leafs surrender 30.5 shots per game, giving up the fourth-highest shot volume in the league.
This defensive pressure has led to inconsistent results from goaltenders Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz. Bobrovsky is expected to start against New York despite a recent 30-save performance in a loss to Buffalo. Both Toronto netminders currently hold save percentages below .900 and goals-against averages above 3.30.