The New York Rangers visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET. New York enters at 7-3-1 after a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 19, while Toronto sits at 5-4-2 following a 6-2 road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Rangers vs Maple Leafs preview comes with a long list of injuries on both sides, and the biggest question is which team’s goaltending and depth can hold up better over 60 minutes.
New York Rangers Vs Toronto Maple Leafs Game Information
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 22
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
- TV/Streaming: ESPN+, MSG
- Series: First meeting of the 2026-27 season
How Have Both Teams Been Playing
New York holds the better overall record at 7-3-1, good for 15 points and second in the Metropolitan Division behind Carolina. The Rangers closed out their last outing with a 5-2 win over Anaheim on Oct. 19, a game in which Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, according to FOX Sports. That victory followed a 1-0 overtime loss to Columbus and a 7-1 defeat at New Jersey, a reminder that New York’s record has come with some uneven results away from Madison Square Garden. The Rangers carry a 1-3-1 mark on the road this season.
Toronto has been inconsistent in its last five, going 2-3 with losses to Utah, Buffalo in overtime and the Islanders sandwiched around wins over San Jose and Columbus. The Maple Leafs fell 4-1 to the New York Islanders on Oct. 17, a defeat that ESPN’s game recap noted extended a stretch in which Toronto had dropped three straight games and four of five. The Maple Leafs have since snapped that skid with back-to-back wins, including Monday’s 6-2 result at Columbus. Toronto is 3-3-1 at home this season.
What Do The Injury Reports Look Like
Toronto’s injury list is extensive. Center John Tavares remains on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and forward Dakota Joshua is out with an abdominal injury. Defenseman Jake McCabe is listed as day-to-day with a face injury, while forward Miles Wood and defenseman Chris Tanev are also on injured reserve, per FOX Sports. The Maple Leafs are also missing Cade Webber (elbow), Elvis Merzlikins (shoulder), Max Domi (back) and William Villeneuve (knee).
New York’s absences are concentrated in net and up front. Starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin is out for the season after right knee surgery, a situation detailed in Total Apex Sports’ coverage of his injury. Backup Joonas Korpisalo is also sidelined with a lower-body injury, leaving Dylan Garand as the Rangers’ probable starter, a role Total Apex Sports examined in a piece on Garand’s starting role. Forwards Joseph Veleno, Aidan Thompson and Adam Sykora round out New York’s injured reserve list.
Who Is Expected To Start In Net
Garand is projected as the Rangers’ starting goaltender for Thursday with both Shesterkin and Korpisalo unavailable. Toronto’s Sergei Bobrovsky is listed as the probable starter for the Maple Leafs. Those designations are projections, not confirmed lineups, and could change before warmups.
What Is The Key Matchup
Special teams could decide this game. New York is 5-2-0 this season when it scores a power-play goal, giving its man-advantage unit outsized influence on the final result. Toronto has drawn plenty of whistles against it, averaging 9.8 penalty minutes per game, seventh-most in the league, according to FOX Sports.
If the Maple Leafs put the Rangers on the power play with any frequency, New York’s track record in those situations becomes the swing factor. Toronto’s own power play has produced 11 goals on the season, so the Leafs will look to avoid letting penalty trouble turn the ice over to a Rangers unit that has capitalized often.
What To Watch
Both clubs are chasing position in divisions that remain tightly packed early in the season. New York trails only Carolina in the Metropolitan standings, while Toronto sits fifth in the Atlantic at 12 points, within striking distance of the top four. A Rangers win would keep pressure on the division leader, while a Maple Leafs win would continue the turnaround that began with consecutive victories over San Jose and Columbus after their three-game skid. Depth scoring will matter for both sides given the volume of forwards unavailable, and how each goaltender performs in his probable start will shape how the rest of the week is covered.
New York’s next game and Toronto’s next matchup after Thursday were not listed in the available schedule data.
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