The Islanders, as close to a whole product as they can get while Mat Barzal is hurt, looked like a better, faster, more competitive team Wednesday night than they had in a preseason that verged on alarming.
asserted
that → get → preseason
For the fifth time in six years, the Islanders started their season with a defeat, falling to the Maple Leafs 2-1, opening 2026-27 with a performance that reinforced their defensive issues.
asserted
that → start → issues
But the good for the Islanders was almost exclusively limited to when Matthew Schaefer was on the ice, and that is a problem anyone could have predicted.
uncertain
anyone → limit → ice
Schaefer, who was part of the headline bill against this year’s No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, picked up right where he left off last season, his adjustment to the right side looking far more seamless than McKenna’s to the NHL.
asserted
adjustment → pick → NHL
Adam Pelech and Schaefer aside, though, the other two defense pairs looked like works in progress at best.
asserted
pairs → look → progress
As was the case in preseason, the Alexander Romanov-Ryan Pulock pair was consistently hemmed in.
asserted
pair → hem → preseason
Logan Stanley, making his Islanders debut alongside Tony DeAngelo, looked like he was still getting his bearings — and was victimized on the Leafs’ opening goal, when Colton Sissons beat him to Nick Paul’s feed for a successful redirection.
asserted
Sissons → make → redirection
Five minutes after Sissons opened the scoring, the Leafs doubled their lead on the power play.
asserted
Leafs → open → play
Morgan Rielly batted the puck to keep it in off Ryan Pulock’s clearing attempt and Easton Cowan cleaned up the garbage on the ensuing blast from Jack Roslovic.
asserted
Cowan → bat → Roslovic
As for Victor Eklund, Leafs coach Jim Hiller threw a huge test at the young Swede right away, matching Auston Matthews’ line against the rookie’s trio that included JG Pageau and Emil Heineman.
asserted
that → throw → Pageau
That made for an underwhelming night for Eklund, though he was far from the only one.
asserted
he → make → one
The second line was barely noticeable aside from Cal Ritchie’s struggles, and by late in the second period, Pete DeBoer had moved Anthony Duclair — perhaps the Islanders’ best offensive forward on the night — into Matias Maccelli’s spot, demoting the latter to the fourth line.
asserted
DeBoer → move → line
Shortly thereafter, DeBoer put the entire lineup in the blender, hoping to spark it in the third period.
asserted
DeBoer → put → period
Ironically, when the Islanders did get on the board, it was shorthanded, with Emil Heineman finishing off a 2-on-1 rush with Bo Horvat at 14:09 of the third.
asserted
Heineman → get → third
Cutting the deficit to 2-1 with nearly six minutes to go gave the Islanders the opportunity they’d been looking for all night.
asserted
they → cut → opportunity
But they couldn’t use it to squeeze out a point.
asserted
they → use → point
There were stretches, amid a game that wasn’t all that open, when the Islanders created extended pressure and forced Anthony Stolarz into action.
asserted
Islanders → be → action
While the power play looked just as bad as it did last season, with an 0-for-4 performance that made it culpable, you could at least squint at parts of the 5-on-5 game and see building blocks.
uncertain
you → look → blocks
Duclair, specifically, looked like the best version of himself, and had the Islanders’ best chance of the night when he skated across the crease and forced Stolarz to stretch all the way out to make a save in the third.
asserted
he → look → third
Still, there wasn’t much activity in the crease, multiple lines were held quiet and the power play was deficient.
asserted
play → be → crease
The Islanders have the best young defensemen in the whole sport in Schaefer.
asserted
Islanders → have → Schaefer
Behind him, though, their defensemen need to be much, much better.
asserted
defensemen → need → him
The Aporia
