The New York Islanders hope their season gets off to a better start on Wednesday in Toronto than the way the Maple Leafs’ campaign began on Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs will be playing their second game in two nights after they dropped their opener 3-2 to the visiting Montreal Canadiens.
The Islanders have not reached the playoffs since the 2023-24 season. The Maple Leafs had their nine-year postseason streak end last spring.
“After missing a couple of years in a row, it stinks,” defenseman Ryan Pulock told Newsday. “There’s got to be some hunger in here. The beauty of it is you read some stuff and I think everyone expects us to miss the playoffs again this year. There’s a lot of motivation that way. There’s a lot of will and a lot of hunger in this room.”
The Islanders lost team captain Anders Lee as a free agent during the offseason but filled his left wing spot by adding free agent Matias Maccelli, formerly of the Maple Leafs.
Kyle Palmieri (knee) and defenseman Alexander Romanov (shoulder) are returning from injuries that kept them out since last November.
The key for the Islanders is defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who received the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) last season.
“We’re all motivated,” new captain Bo Horvat said. “Everybody believes in here. Everybody knows what we’re capable of, and I think when we put everything together, I think we have a really good hockey team.”
The Maple Leafs broke in some new players on Tuesday, including 2026 first overall draft pick Gavin McKenna and Kirill Marchenko, who was obtained in a trade on Monday that sent Matthew Knies to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Marchenko earned an assist against Montreal on the first of William Nylander’s two goals.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, defenseman Darren Raddysh and forwards Nicholas Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger and Zack MacEwen also played their first game for Toronto.
“It’s going to take some time until everybody settles into their roles,” new Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller said. “Everybody wants to do extremely well, and sometimes that’s more of a curse than a blessing. You try to do too much, and you get a little tight.
“First time playing for them in this building in a regular-season game, so that might have a little bit to do with some nerves. I don’t know that for sure. Hopefully, they can bounce back and just be a little cleaner (Wednesday) night.”
Familiar problems cropped up with the Maple Leafs, particularly giveaways in their own end.
“We turned the puck over in the D-zone,” Hiller said. “Outside of that, I thought we played pretty well.”
The Toronto players were disappointed to see Knies depart but liked the return.
“Matthew is a great person and a great player. Columbus is getting a horse, but we’re welcoming in an amazing player,” Toronto defenseman Chris Tanev said of Marchenko. “Heard nothing but great things about him.”
Roslovic was Marchenko’s teammate with the Blue Jackets.
“You never want to see guys go, but you look forward and you’re happy to get a deal done with an elite player,” Roslovic said. “His work ethic is really impressive. I like him as a guy, and he’s off-the-charts skilled. He’s got a lot of strength, he’s very stable. He does all the right things in the gym and he’s got a will to get better.”
