New York Islanders Beat Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 As Peter DeBoer Era Begins With a Win
The Islanders have a new head coach in Peter DeBoer. Teams often get a bounce from getting a new coach. The Islanders won this game against an awful Toronto Maple Leafs team, but having lost four games in a row at exactly the wrong time, they have fallen out of a very tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
DeBoer made several lineup changes for the Islanders. Those changes include moving Simon Holmstrom to the first line and making Matthew Barzal the second line center. There are rumors that Kyle Palmieri and Alexander Romanov may return from injury, and that Victor Eklund may make his NHL debut. Do you think injured and new players will be inspired to play for a new coach?
Islanders and Maple Leafs Game Summary
The Islanders have lost four consecutive games coming into this one. They lost their most recent game to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. In that game, JG Pageau scored his 400th career point, but the Isles fell out of playoff contention. The Maple Leafs have been eliminated from playoff contention, and their established stars are openly declaring they want to be traded. The most vocal has been William Nylander.
In this game, there were a bunch of goals scored right away. The Isles scored two goals in the first 4:55 of the game. The Toronto Maple Leafs answered right back, and it was 2-1 Islanders before some people settled into their seats. Things settled down from there.
As the game developed, there were a couple of things to know. First, New York outshot Toronto 24-3 in the first period. It was their most shots in a period since 2008. Second, Matthew Schaefer scored a goal in the second period. His 23 goals now tie Brian Leetch for the most goals for a rookie.
Peter DeBoer Era Begins With Islanders
DeBoer has coached 1,261 regular-season games with the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Dallas Stars. He is 662-446-152 in 1,261 regular-season games. His 662 wins rank 18th all-time in NHL history. There is some thought that he was hired at this strange time to lock him up so another team would not hire him.
He is renowned for liking veterans and riding goaltenders into dust. So, expect him to enjoy the veteran Islanders roster and to develop a conflict with Islanders star Goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
There are only four games left in the season, and there is some thinking that this move was most likely for next season. DeBoer is known as a bit of a structured disciplinarian. The Islanders need structure and discipline. However, it is an open question how the new coach will handle all of the Isles’ young talent. He was part of the selection committee for Team Canada and has had some nice things to say about Schaefer.
Pajama Boy
The Islanders have beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs twice this season. This is their final meeting. Every time these two teams play, expect Maple Leaf John Tavares to get booed, particularly on Long Island. Tavares was the captain and the No. 1 overall draft pick.
He signed as a free agent with the Maple Leafs in 2019. That was the team he cheered for as a boy. He made the announcement of his signing in a news conference wearing Toronto Maple Leaf pajamas. That is why he is called “Pajama Boy” by Islanders fans.
