All eyes will be on Peter DeBoer as he takes his place behind the New York Islanders’ bench for a crucial tilt against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
The Islanders (42-31-5, 89 points) parted ways on Sunday with Patrick Roy, their head coach of two-plus years, after an ill-timed four-game losing streak near the tail end of the season.
The last time New York took the ice, 36 saves from goaltender Ilya Sorokin weren’t enough to keep out the high-flying Carolina Hurricanes, who prevailed 4-3 on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. The Islanders managed just 16 shots on goal in Roy’s last stand.
“We all love Patty and wish that we could have done better over the last 10 days,” Islanders center Mathew Barzal said after practice on Monday. “You look in the mirror and there’s chances that I missed. … As competitors, you feel disappointment, just thinking you could have done more.”
The bad string of results dropped the Islanders outside a playoff spot. They sit three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who occupy the second Eastern Conference wild-card position, and trail the Philadelphia Flyers by three points for the third slot in the Metropolitan Division. All of those teams have four games remaining.
The Islanders will hope DeBoer’s postseason pedigree gets them over the hump. With a 97-82 record in 179 playoff games, DeBoer ranks fifth all-time in postseason wins — the most of any coach without a Stanley Cup. DeBoer reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 with the New Jersey Devils and in 2016 with the San Jose Sharks but lost in six games on both occasions.
“After 18 years in this league, I’d like to say that I think I have really strong beliefs on how a team needs to play, what’s important to winning and what’s important to winning in the playoffs,” said DeBoer, who had been out of a job since the Dallas Stars fired him after a loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025 Western Conference finals. “I have a lot of non-negotiables on those things.”
The new-look Islanders will hope to claim both points against a battered Maple Leafs team entering the second night of a back-to-back. Toronto (32-32-14, 78 points) dropped a third consecutive game on Wednesday, an uninspired 4-0 loss to the visiting Washington Capitals.
Toronto, eliminated from playoff contention last week, already was dealing with the absence of captain Auston Matthews for the remainder of the season. Now the Maple Leafs will find themselves even thinner on Thursday.
Brandon Carlo, Dakota Joshua and goaltender Anthony Stolarz all left the Washington game with injuries. None of them will play on Thursday.
In Stolarz’s place, Berube confirmed that 24-year-old Artur Akhtyamov would get his first NHL start. Akhtyamov has appeared in one game, making five saves in relief for Toronto against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 13.
“He has a great personality. He has played well down there (in the AHL), and he is a competitor,” Berube said of Akhtyamov. “He really has fast reflexes and is competitive as hell. I like the kid a lot.”
Berube also indicated that center Luke Haymes, 22, would make his NHL debut against New York.
The Islanders, in turn, hope defenseman Tony DeAngelo can suit up for his first game since March 24, when he sustained a lower-body injury.
