NEW YORK -- The New York Islanders will see an old friend Sunday night, when Matt Martin makes his first visit to Barclays Center as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. As glad as the Islanders will be to see Martin, they'd be even happier if their old offense returns, too.
The Islanders will look to snap out of a season-long goal-scoring funk when they host the Maple Leafs in the opener of a five-game homestand. New York (3-5-0) last played Thursday, when it fell 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Toronto (2-3-3) will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set after losing to the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday night.
All eyes, at least early on Sunday night, will be on Martin, who spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Islanders before signing with the Maple Leafs as a free agent in July. Martin was wildly popular with Islanders fans and teammates for his feisty on-ice demeanor as well as his locker room leadership and off-ice involvement with the community.
The Matt Martin Foundation raises funds for a variety of causes, including children with cystic fibrosis. Martin's girlfriend, Sydney Esiason, has a brother with cystic fibrosis.
"I'm sure it'll be emotional for me," Martin told Newsday on Saturday. "I matured as a player and a person on the Island. It'll always be special for me. I'm trying to win a game, but as soon as it's over, I'll be rooting for those guys."
The Islanders surely feel the same way -- especially about the trying to win a game part. New York, which has lost two straight, has been tied in the third period in all five of its losses.
The major problem for the Islanders has been a struggling forward corps. Defensemen have accounted for eight of the team's 22 goals. Center John Tavares (four goals) is the lone forward with more than two goals, and left winger Brock Nelson and right winger Ryan Strome (two goals each) are the only other ones with more than a single tally.
Left winger Andrew Ladd, who was expected to become New York's No. 2 threat upon signing a seven-year deal in July, has yet to score a goal and was actually played on the fourth line last Wednesday against the Canadiens.
"We're just not getting offense from our forwards right now," Islanders head coach Jack Capuano told Newsday following Thursday's loss. "We've got to find a way to score goals if this team wants to win games. End of story."
The Maple Leafs enter in a bit of an offensive funk themselves. Toronto, which was held to fewer than two goals for the first time this season on Saturday, has scored seven goals in its last three games after racking up 18 in the first five.
"The good thing about this game is that maybe tonight you feel sorry for yourself, but then you're right back at it (Sunday)," Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "We've got a big game against the Islanders that we've got to win. We've got another chance to redeem ourselves, so that's a good feeling."
Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said goalie Jhonas Enroth will make his second start of the season Sunday. Enroth will likely face Islanders no. 1 goalie Jaroslav Halak, who started Thursday's loss.
Enroth is 2-4-0 in six games against the Islanders. He was a member of the Los Angeles Kings the last time he opposed New York on Feb. 11, when Enroth took the defeat after stopping 25 of 29 shots in the Kings' 5-2 loss at Barclays Center.
Halak is 8-3-3 in 15 games against the Maple Leafs. He earned the win the last time he opposed Toronto on Feb. 12, 2015, when Halak stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced in the Islanders' 3-2 victory at Nassau Coliseum.
