The rubber match to determine the winner of the Maple Leafs vs. Islanders season series takes place tonight in Elmont, New York (7:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario).

The three meetings between these two teams, including back-to-back matchups this week, are playing out like a mini-playoff series given the timeframe, albeit the first game was unfair to judge due to the Leafs‘ scheduling situation, as they were playing tired vs. a rested Islanders team. source

Projected Lineup:

Max Pacioretty — John Tavares — Mitch Marner
Matthew Knies — David Kampf — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — Connor Dewar — Ryan Reaves

Morgan Rielly — Phillippe Myers
Jake McCabe– Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Joseph Woll
Dennis Hildeby

Scratched: Marshall Rifai, Conor Timmins

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Anthony Stolarz (lower body), Auston Matthews (upper body), Pontus Holmberg (illness)

Status report: The Maple Leafs held an optional morning skate Thursday. … Matthews made the trip but will miss his sixth straight game; the center was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, retroactive to Dec. 20. … Ekman-Larsson will play after he missed a 3-1 win against the Islanders on Tuesday because of an illness. … Holmberg, a forward, will miss his second straight game.