4 Takeaways From Maple Leafs’ 2-1 Win Over the Islanders

The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up their first win of the new season against the New York Islanders on Wednesday (Sept. 30). After being one of the busiest teams in the offseason, the Maple Leafs are looking to have a much stronger campaign, and while they dropped their first game to the Montreal Canadiens, getting two points was a good response.

In this article, we go over four takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ first win of the season.

Anthony Stolarz Had Impressive Showing

Goaltender Anthony Stolarz had a really strong showing, stopping 26 of 27 shots he faced, posting a .963 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.03 goals-against-average (GAA), as well as a +1.65 goals-saved-above-expected (GSAX).

One of the biggest question marks heading into the new season for the Maple Leafs was their goaltending, so a strong showing from Stolarz to help them pick up a victory should give them some confidence moving forward.

Easton Cowan Leads Offensively

While it was a quiet game offensively between the two teams, with just three goals total, Easton Cowan had the game-winning goal, as well as an assist on the first goal that Colton Sissons scored.

Cowan is in his second full season in the NHL, and fans are hoping to see him find another level at both ends of the ice. Last season, he scored 11 goals and added 18 assists for 29 points through 66 games. Through his first two games, he has one goal and two assists, and is currently on pace to finish with over a point-per-game.

There is an expectation among fans that Cowan will be one of the key contributors in the Maple Leafs’ middle-six forward group this season, and this strong start shows promise that their expectations could be met.

Gavin McKenna Remains Quiet Offensively, But Don’t Panic

The first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna, still hasn’t found the score sheet through his first two games. As many fans expected, he hasn’t immediately jumped out as a superstar at the NHL level, but there isn’t any reason to panic yet.

Some players take a little longer to figure things out, and while Toronto is known for being hard on their players, there is no reason to panic about his lack of production this early. Not everyone is going to score four goals in their first career NHL game, like Auston Matthews did.

McKenna will get going at some point. He hasn’t looked bad whatsoever, as his speed and IQ seem to be right at the NHL level already, but he might be trying to shake some nerves early on.

He will be just fine.

Maple Leafs’ Penalty Kill Does Well

The Maple Leafs killed all four penalties that they took, and they should be given credit for how well they did against the Islanders.

If they want to have success and make a playoff push this season, one thing that’s going to have to be strong is their special teams, starting with their penalty kill, and they have started the season perfect through two games.

The Maple Leafs are back in action on Saturday (Oct. 3) when they take on the Ottawa Senators in their third game of the season. It seems likely that Sergei Bobrovsky will be back between the pipes for that game, but we will see how that shakes out.

Either way, the Maple Leafs can’t be upset about their response after a loss to open their campaign.

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