Toronto Maple Leafs: Barzal and the Isles’ Goalie Issues

After a 1-0 win over the Florida Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs look to grab another win tonight against Mathew Barzal and the New York Islanders.

Barzal, a native of Coquitlam, British Columbia is having a phenomenal season with the Islanders and will be a favorite to bring home the Calder. Barzal’s major competition for the Calder is Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks.

So far this season, Barzal has 16 goals, 46 assists, 4 PPG, 4 PPP and a 12.3 S%. He’s be an excellent play-maker on the Islanders second line. Barzal has also improved his linemate, Jordan Eberle as well.

After back-to-back frustrating seasons for Eberle, the play of Barzal has sparked an offensive surge in his game. Eberle’s shooting percentage is higher and if he stays at his current pace he’ll be able to surpass his point total from the last two seasons.

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Additionally, Barzal has taken pressure off of John Tavares. For a while, the Islanders didn’t have a high scoring centreman on the second line. With the presence of Barzal, Tavares doesn’t have to feel pressure to excel in every shift.

Major Problem For The Isles

The major problem for the Islanders is goaltending. This season, the Islanders lead the NHL in Goals Against/Games Played with 3.57 goals. It appears that Garth Snow, the general manager of the Islanders, has made a mistake with choosing to go with a tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss. Both Halak and Greiss have a GAA higher than 3.00 and look awful in net for New York.

Unfortunately for New York fans, it doesn’t seem like the NHL Trade Deadline will fix that. The other day, the Islanders’ rival, the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Petr Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings. With Mrazek off the board, there aren’t many options for the Islanders.

Robin Lehner of the Buffalo Sabres would have been a great fit for the Islanders, but is now out of the lineup with a hip injury.

Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if Snow picks up the phone and calls the Vancouver Canucks to see if he can grab Jacob Markstrom. We shall see how the deadline shakes out. Perhaps, the Islanders can find a team willing to part with a top net-minder.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs practiced yesterday and there was only one change. Yet again, Mike Babcock has decided to swap out Roman Polak and put Connor Carrick in, per a report from Kristen Shilton of TSN.

Due to the playing style of the Islanders, it makes tremendous sense why Babcock chose to put Carrick into the lineup. The Islanders are very speedy and can pretty much out-skate Polak.

Next: Potential Deadline Acquisitions for Leafs

Prediction & Notes

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ offense should create issues for Jaroslav Halak and the Islanders. My prediction is that the Toronto Maple Leafs will beat the Islanders 6-3 at the Air Canada Centre.

Tonight’s affair between the Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs can be found on TSN4 in Canada and on MSG+2 in New York/New Jersey.

statistics from NHL.com and hockey-reference.com