NFL Round Table Show
The New York Islanders face the Toronto Maple Leafs with both teams looking to build off strong starts to the season. The Islanders have an 11-8 record but have lost back-to-back games while the Maple Leafs have a 10-5-4 record to start the year. The Islanders are looking to improve in the Metropolitan Division while the Maple Leafs look to improve in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, making the upcoming game a pivotal one for both teams.
The Islanders are having a great season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.32 goals per game. Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and Anders Lee have scored 19 goals and 39 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Kyle Palmieri have combined for 14 goals and 16 assists while defenseman Noah Dobson has added five goals and seven assists from the point to help open up the offense.
The has been great but the defense has recently unraveled allowing only 2.79 goals per game but has allowed 10 goals in the last two games. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock have combined for 2.7 defensive point shares and 61 blocked shots to lead the top pairing but the rest of the unit has struggled recently, allowing opponents to easily find open shots on the net. The bright spot has been the play of goaltender Ilya Sorokin who has a .925 sa ve percentage and a 2.41 goals-against average on 386 shots.