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TORONTO — Kyle Palmieri’s demotion to the fourth line was the story Saturday morning, but it will almost assuredly be temporary given the Islanders ended a 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs down to 10 forwards.
If Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli — both of whom suffered lower-body injuries and will be evaluated in New York — miss time, Palmieri is high on the list of players the Islanders will immediately need more from if they are to survive without two of their better offensive talents.
Also high on that list: Simon Holmstrom and Anthony Duclair.
Luckily enough, those two accounted for three of the Islanders’ four goals Saturday, which you might call a good start.
“Even if those guys [Ritchie and Maccelli] are back, it’s still important,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I’ve said that since Day 1: We’re not winning unless we score a certain amount of goals. And to do that the way we’re gonna do it is gonna be through four lines of guys that can hop over the boards and on any given night chip in.
“Tonight we got a big one from Duke that got us out front. That first goal changes the feel of the game. If you’re chasing it, it’s a different thing.”
The Islanders have shown themselves to be a well-structured and adept defensive team, which gives them a foundation they can always fall back on. But scoring already looked like a challenge, and producing offense likely just got even harder.
“It’s an opportunity for guys to step into bigger roles, move around the lineup,” Palmieri told The Post. “I think for us it’s really about coming together as a group and doing what we did tonight.”
Ilya Sorokin’s 158th career win moved him ahead of Chico Resch for second on the club’s all-time list.
He still has a long way to go, however, before catching Billy Smith’s 230.
The Maple Leafs were without John Tavares on Saturday with the former Islander declared week to week with a lower-body injury.
The main drama around the Leafs — No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna’s benching Thursday night — was addressed by McKenna prior to Saturday’s game.
“[Leafs coach Jim Hiller] said it had nothing to do with my play, which is obviously nice to know,” McKenna said. “It doesn’t really take away from your confidence at all, so [I] appreciated him reaching out and I trust him.”