(Photo: Reuters/Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports)
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf (3) celebrates with teammates Carter Ashton (37) , Nikolai Kulemin (41) , Nazem Kadri (43) and Carl Gunnarsson (36) after his goal against Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Bell Centre.
Christian Post Report – It’s an Eastern Conference showdown as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New York Islanders at Air Canada Centre in the NHL. Both teams are coming off bad results so expect an intense match as they try to get things back on track.
Between the two teams, things are much worse for the Maple Leafs. They currently sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and will miss out on the playoffs. As for the Islanders, they are third in the East and are leaders of the Metropolitan Division with 88 points.
In their most recent match, New York faced the Florida Panthers. They found themselves unable to get an advantage as they trailed throughout the contest.
However, they displayed resolve as they were also able to level the score on three different occasions and had the chance to win it all as they reached the penalty shootout. Unfortunately, they could not get the goals they needed and they ended up settling for a point.
For the Maple Leafs, their last match ended disastrously against the St. Louis Blues. Things went wrong right from the start as Toronto committed three penalties in the first period.
They also found themselves in a whole as St. Louis built a 5-0 lead heading into the final frame after scoring thrice in the first period and twice during the next.
David Booth scored to avoid a complete shutout but the heavy loss gave Toronto their fourth loss in their last five matches.
The two teams have already met twice, with this coming meeting to be the last of the season.
Both times the teams have played in New York, with each team with a win.
With the scenes switching to Toronto, expect a tough battle. The match begins 7:30 ET so visit NHL.com for updates and scores. To watch a live stream, click here.
Source : Christian Post