The Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo on Thursday was costly in that the club surrendered another lead and lost a valuable point, while giving a short-handed division rival two points. It was also costly in another area, as veteran John Tavares left the game in the third period after a collision with Sabres center Josh Norris. On Saturday, the Leafs revealed that Tavares is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
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The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel indicated that the week-to-week designation could mean an absence of up to six weeks. Tavares played at times on the wing on Thursday with Nick Paul up the middle. In his absence, Paul will likely be slotted in as the #2 center, with Colton Sisson shifting up to the third line. Benoît-Olivier Groulx, who was not in the lineup against Buffalo, is the likely addition to the Leafs fourth line unit against the New York Islanders with Tavares out, but another roster move may be necessary.
Head Coach Jim Hiller did not use enforcer Zach MacEwen in the third period against the Sabres, and he also benched rookie Gavin McKenna for the second half of the contest. Unless Hiller wants to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen again, the Leafs would have to recall someone from the AHL Marlies. Possibilities include Brendan Brisson, who leads the club with five goals in four games, Luke Haymes, who has four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in four games, or the recently acquired Aatu Raty.
Raty, 23, has 118 games of NHL experience, including four games with the Vancouver Canucks this season, and was acquired in a trade for Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr on Thursday. Raty is a big body (6’2″, 204 lb.) and has a nearly 60% faceoff win rate, something that could be utilized in the absence of Tavares.
Sergei Bobrovsky occupied the home net at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday and is expected to get the start.
TORONTO (3-3-2 – 8 POINTS vs. NY ISLANDERS (3-3-1 – 7 POINTS)
OCTOBER 17, 2026 ▪ 7:00 PM EST ▪ SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON)
TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050
TORONTO’S HISTORY vs. NEW YORK
| All-Time Record: | 81-73-7-14 (175 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 47-33-4-5 (89 Games) |
| 2025-26: | 35-57-0-3 (86 Games) |
| Last Five: | 2-2-1 |
| Last 10: | 3-4-3 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | January 10, 1973 (Toronto 4 vs. New York 2) |
| All-Time Record: | 81-73-7-14 (175 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 47-33-4-5 (89 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 35-57-0-3 (86 Games) |
| Last Home Win vs. Opponent: | September 30, 2026 (Toronto 2 vs. New York 1) |
MAPLE LEAFS / ISLANDERS – 2026-27 TEAM STATS
| NEW YORK | TORONTO | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 2.86 (22nd) | 3.5 (9th) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 2.29 (3rd | 3.38 (23rd) |
| Power Play %: | 18.2% (18th) | 29.6% (4th) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 85.2% (10th) | 96.2% (1st) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 25.6 (22nd) | 27.9 (14th) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 26 (12th-T) | 30.4 (29th) |
| Faceoff %: | 53.6 (5th) | 52.4 (8th) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
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