Islanders vs. Maple Leafs: Chasing That Rarest of Visions - A Thrilling Heart-Stopping Match!
Just two guys… | NHLI via Getty Images Back by (popular? ) demand, we’ll try to have game thread posts that are separate from the morning thread and any other posts. Ideally, this is to help people riff in-the-moment (hilarious, heated, or otherwise) while not having the emotional reactions get confused in the morning/daytime threads.
You know, like once upon a time. The Islanders are in Toronto, to whom Brayden Schenn was rumored to have vetoed a trade last season. Their loss, our reward, or nah?
Under the microscope will be first-overall pick and Calder favorite Matthew Schaefer, while his fellow rookie may get a little less attention: #Isles Cal Ritchie, who also grew up outside of Toronto, jokes his contingent will not be nearly as big as the “1,000” Matthew Schaefer will have at arena tonight. But he jokes there’s enough people that he’s playing for free tonight because tickets were expensive. — Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) March 17, 2026 Also, the Islanders chose this moment and swing through Toronto to shine the light on another part of their future, announcing the three-year entry level contract for defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson , who of course will continue playing in OHL Barrie, where he leads the league in defenseman goals with 28.
This is one of two meetings with the Leafs down the stretch, so Taranna could still really impact the Islanders’ playoff push. They’re without Auston Matthews, while the Islanders are without Max Shabanov (and Kyle Palmieri and Alex Romanov, of course), though the Russian rookie could easily be a healthy scratch even if he weren’t nursing a minor injury.