Islanders' Mathew Barzal also making his presence felt in defensive zone
Mathew Barzal of the Islanders skates against the Ducks at UBS Arena on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
There was Mathew Barzal, who had already tied the game with a third-period power-play goal, sliding on his knees and the puck heading out of the Islanders’ zone thanks to his key blocked shot in what turned into a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Ducks on Wednesday night at UBS Arena.
Barzal’s consistency in the offensive zone has been — and must continue to be — a crucial part of the Islanders’ recent success. But it’s those types of plays in the defensive zone that truly show his maturity as a hockey player.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Barzal said. “We’ve had some success putting the puck in the back in the net and the boys enjoy that. But there’s nothing like a good block from a guy — myself — who’s maybe not known for that a ton. The boys loved it and that gives me the energy to want to do it again.
“I’m trying to evolve my game, whether that’s being better on the forecheck or having a good stick for takeaways. It was a critical moment in the game and I needed to make a play.”
The Islanders (14-7-7) conclude their six-game homestand, which has started 4-0-1 with four straight wins, against the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins on Friday night. Overall, they are on a 6-0-1 run as they’ve launched themselves into second place in the Metropolitan Division, four points behind the Rangers and with a 9-1-4 record since Nov. 15.
Barzal, 26, in the first season of an eight-year, $73.2 million deal, has three goals and four assists in a four-game point streak. He has five goals and nine assists in his last seven games. His 10 goals and 20 assists in 27 games gives him the team lead in points.
But, honestly, that’s what he’s being paid to do. Wednesday’s blocked shot was just a small snippet of how bought in Barzal is to the Islanders’ overall team game and coach Lane Lambert’s structure.
It’s not a straight analogy but think back to Lambert and former Islanders coach Barry Trotz’s time with the Capitals. Alex Ovechkin was always a scoring machine in Washington. He didn’t lift the Stanley Cup until Trotz and Lambert finally got him to fully realize the importance of his defensive play as well.
“It’s winning hockey,” Lambert said when asked about Barzal selling out to block Leo Carlsson’s wrist shot from the high slot at 14:36 of the third period. “We’ve talked about him here for a long time about his defensive play and how he’s been very good. It was a huge block for us at a key moment. He made a great play.”
A couple of advanced analytics speak to Barzal’s improved defensive play.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Barzal’s expected goals against of 22.04 is on pace to be the lowest of his seven-season career. Last season, it was 34.2. It was 50.76 in 2021-22.
And Barzal’s takeaway/giveaway ratio of 0.94 is on track to be the best of his career, per Fox Sports. He was at 0.72 last season and 0.52 in 2021-22.
Very solid and encouraging statistics from a maturing player.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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