The Islanders’ 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs came with a pair of injury scares that could leave New York short-handed coming out of its brief road trip.
Center Calum Ritchie and winger Matias Maccelli both exited Saturday’s game with lower-body injuries, and the team said neither player would return.
Ritchie’s night ended in the first period after he took a check from Leafs defenseman Nick Blankenburg along the boards and appeared to absorb the force on his left leg. The 21-year-old Oakville, Ontario native had totaled a goal and an assist for two points in seven games entering Saturday. Last season, he produced 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 65 games for New York.
Ritchie was selected 27th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and the Islanders later acquired him, along with defenseman Oliver Kylington and two draft picks, from Colorado in exchange for forwards Brock Nelson and William Dufour in March of 2025.
Maccelli left in the second period after a poke check attempt from Toronto defenseman Darren Raddysh caught him in the left skate and sent him down awkwardly to the ice. The 26-year-old Finnish national had six points - two goals and four assists - in seven games for the Islanders before Saturday’s action.
New York signed Maccelli as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason on a one-year, $2.25 million deal. He spent last season with the Leafs, posting 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points in 71 games.
Originally chosen by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Maccelli’s best NHL season came in 2023-24 with Arizona, when he finished with 17 goals and 40 assists for 57 points in 82 games.
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Islanders Grind Out A Win That Created A New Worry
The Islanders got exactly the kind of road result they needed in Toronto, a 4-1 win built on timely scoring and a steady night from Ilya Sorokin, who stopped 28 shots. Anthony Duclair and Bo Horvat scored in support, and Simon Holmstrom capped it with the empty-netter as New York handled the game with a shortened bench and enough structure to keep the Leafs from turning it into a track meet.
The concern came early, when Cal Ritchie and Matias Maccelli both exited in the first period, leaving the Islanders to juggle their lines for most of the night. Any win on the road is useful, but a victory that costs you two forwards can change the mood fast, especially with one injury appearing more serious and the team now waiting to find out how much more damage came out of a night it otherwise controlled. [Read more 🡒]
Varlamov Just Made The Islanders Backup Goalie Decision Much Tougher
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Varlamov has been working his way back after 22 months rehabbing from a double-knee replacement, and every outing now carries extra weight in the backup race behind Ilya Sorokin. His performance suggested he is at least making this a real conversation for the Islanders, even if the longer-term picture in net is still far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Lose Another Key Forward As Early Scoring Pressure Builds
The Islanders had to navigate another uneasy night against Toronto when both Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli left the game with lower-body injuries. It was the kind of setback that can change a lineup in a hurry, especially when a club is already trying to manage its way through the grind of an early season schedule and keep enough skill on the ice to stay competitive.
Ritchie was hit on his first shift by Nick Blankenburg, while Maccelli left after getting tangled up with Darren Raddysh, and each exit only added to the sense of a game slipping into survival mode. Around the league, the injury list keeps growing in different ways, with the Flyers already missing Owen Tippett and the Senators expecting Jake Sanderson back soon, but for the Islanders the immediate concern is simply how they patch together their next look if either absence lingers. [Read more 🡒]