The Toronto Maple Leafs, 10 points out of a wild-card spot, bring their road woes (14-19-6) into Thursday's 6:45 p.m. matchup against the 42-31-5 New York Islanders, who are closing in on a playoff berth with a 21-14-2 home record. Toronto's leaky defense, which allows 32.5 shots and 3.52 goals per game on the road, faces a stiffer test against an Islanders team that limits opponents to 28.2 shots and 2.87 goals against at home. The Leafs will need more than William Nylander's 73-point pace to overcome this defensive mismatch.
The special teams edge slightly favors Toronto (20.7% power play) over the Islanders (16.7%), but New York counters with nine shorthanded goals and a healthier roster, especially with Toronto missing defenseman Chris Tanev (IR-LT). With the total set at 6.5 and Mathew Barzal driving the Islanders' offense with 70 points, the key question is whether Toronto's perimeter attack can capitalize before Ilya Sorokin faces the shot volume. Make your pick or follow the discussion on StreakChat.