"Toronto Maple Leafs 61 pts (28-18-5)
vs
New York Islanders 55 pts (25-21-5)
7:30 p.m. ET
Air Canada Centre – Toronto, ON
TV: Sportsnet
Radio: TSN 1050 AM
Season Series/Schedule
Date Game GWG
1/31 NYI @ TOR
2/22 NYI @ TOR
3/30 TOR @ NYI
Team Leaders
Maple Leafs Islanders
Auston Matthews, 37 Points John Tavares, 57
Auston Matthews, 22 Goals Anders Lee, 27
Mitch Marner, 27 Assists Josh Bailey, 42
Tonight, we will get our first look at the New York Islanders in a matchup that features last year's Calder Trophy winner in Auston Matthews and possibly this year's winner in Matthew Barzal.
The Islanders have been about a .500 team for the last few weeks and are coming off a 4-1 to the Florida Panthers last night. The enter play today one point out of the second wild card spot and three points behind the New Jersey Devils for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Mike Babcock confirmed that Nikita Zaitsev will indeed return to the lineup after missing the last 17 games with a broken foot. His return could not have come at a better time as top defenseman Morgan Rielly is still out with an upper-body injury.
Babcock will not change his forward line combinations, which means Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov will remain apart. It also means Matt Martin will be a healthy scratch for the third straight game and not play against his former team.
Babock spoke about the difficult decision after today's morning skate.
Probable Maple Leafs Lineup
FORWARDS
Zach Hyman - Auston Matthews - William Nylander
Patrick Marleau - Nazem Kadri - Mitch Marner
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Connor Brown
Leo Komarov - Dominic Moore - Kasperi Kapanen
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Jake Gardiner - Ron Hainsey
Travis Dermott - Nikita Zaitsev
Andreas Borgman - Connor Carrick
GOALTENDER
Frederik Andersen (24-14-4, 2.68 GAA, .920 save %, 3 SO)
INJURY REPORT
LW-Joffrey Lupul (sports hernia) out, RW-Nikita Soshnikov (lower-body) out, D-Morgan Rielly (upper-body) out
Probable Islanders Lineup
FORWARDS
Anders Lee - John Tavares - Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier - Mathew Barzal - Jordan Eberle
Jason Chimera - Brock Nelson - Tanner Fritz
Alan Quine - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Nick Leddy - Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech - Sebastian Aho
Thomas Hickey - Ryan Pulock
GOALTENDER
Thomas Greiss (10-6-2, 3.89 GAA, .886 save %, 0 SO)
INJURY REPORT
LW-Nikolay Kulemin (upper-body) out, D-Calvin de Haan (upper-body) out, D-Johnny Boychuk (lower-body) out, LW-Andrew Ladd (undisclosed) out, LW-Shane Prince (upper-body) out"
