Islanders Welcome Duclair Back, Maple Leafs Without Matthews: Lines & Notes

Anthony Duclair will play for the first time since Oct. 19.

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Dec 21, 2024

After getting blanked by the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the New York Islanders (12-14-7) face the Toronto Maple Leafs (20-10-2).

Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. the game can be found on MSGSN.

Anthony Duclair was activated after being removed from LTIR on Friday night and will make his first appearance since Oct. 19. Pierre Engvall and Matt Martin, former Leafs, will be healthy scratches.

Defenseman Isaiah George will slot back in for Dennis Cholowski after sitting the last three games.

Goalie Ilya Sorokin will make his 10th straight start.

The Islanders swept the Maple Leafs last season for the first time since 1987-88. Their first meeting happened on Dec. 11, 2023, when the Islanders overcame a blown third-period lead and John Tavares’ 1,000th NHL point to defeat Toronto 4-3 on a Bo Horvat overtime goal. New York played comeback in their second game from 3-1 down to another 4-3 victory in overtime. The finale was a back-and-forth affair, but Pierre Engvall struck late to give the Islanders a 3-2 win.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Lee-Barzal-Pageau

Duclair-Nelson-Palmieri

Tsyplakov-Horvat-Holmstrom

MacLean-Cizikas-Fasching

Romanov-Dobson

Pelech-Pulock

George-Mayfield

Sorokin

Hogberg

WHO’S HOT:

Mathew Barzal shined against the Maple Leafs last season, recording two goals and four assists for six points in their three meetings. In the middle game on Jan. 11, he had a goal and three assists in a four-point night. He has a five-game point streak against Toronto entering Saturday’s game with two goals and six assists for eight points.

Kyle Palmieri also had a point in all three matchups last season. The forward tallied two goals and two assists for four points against Toronto last season.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau had three points in the Islanders’ last meeting with Carolina, tallying a goal and two assists. It was his first of two games with three points this season, doing so on Thursday against the Blackhawks.

Brock Nelson remains two short of moving into a tie with Brent Sutter and Pat LaFontaine for fifth place on the Islanders’ all-time goals list with 285 goals in his career.

Anders Lee tops active Islanders in career goals against the Maple Leafs with nine. Horvat and Nelson are tied for the lead in assists with 18, but Horvat has the edge in total points with 19.

Ilya Sorokin will make his tenth straight start on Saturday after Semyon Varlamov was placed on LTIR. After getting pulled against Carolina with four goals against, he is 4-4-1 with a 3.00 GAA and .894 SV% in that span. Sorokin is 5-3-0 against Toronto in his career, boasting a 2.87 GAA and .919 SV%, most recently making 34 saves on 36 shots in a win in their last matchup.

OPPONENT’S NOTES:

Auston Matthews reaggravated his upper-body injury in their 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and will not play.

Mitch Marner enters Saturday’s game with points in four straight games against New York. The forward has two goals and two assists for four points in that span, as well as six goals and five assists in his last 10 games against them. He has a helper in his last four games overall, totaling six in that stretch.

William Nylander had a three-point game against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, extending his point streak to five games. He has three goals and four assists for seven points in that span, and he led the team with 21 goals.

Tavares has been hot over his last three games, averaging two points per game in that stretch. In that span, he has three goals and three assists for six points, including a hat trick on Dec. 15 against the Sabres.

Matthews is tied with Max Pacioretty for the most goals against the Islanders with 12 in 19 career games. Nylander has the most helpers against them with 12 in 21 games, while Pacioretty leads in total points with 23 points in 32 games.

After Matt Murray picked up the win on Saturday, Joseph WollIslanders. He last started on Dec. 18 against the Dallas Stars, making 36 saves on 39 shots in a winning effort. He faced the Islanders once previously in his career, making 20 saves in a shutout on Nov. 21, 2021 at UBS Arena.