Mathew Barzal's injury has Islanders on the ropes, but they'll fight back

Head coach Patrick Roy of the Islanders instructs his team during the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at UBS Arena on Tuesday, Jan 28, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Patrick Roy is not sure whether Mathew Barzal will return in the regular season. But the Islanders coach did everything but cue up the iconic “Rocky” theme song when asked about his top-liner’s second lengthy absence this season.
“I was watching 'Rocky' the other day,” Roy said before the Islanders faced Vegas on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. “At the fight, Rocky was bouncing up and down and Apollo looked at him like, ‘What are you doing? Go down.’ And Rocky refuses to go down. He did not win the fight. But he won the next one.
“You’re going to say to me, ‘It’s a movie.’ But I think we love people that refuse to go down. We love people that want to battle for their dream. People that are going to fight. So that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
The Islanders placed Barzal on injured reserve on Tuesday. They had announced the previous day he was out indefinitely with a lower-body injury while defenseman Scott Mayfield was day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Mayfield joins Noah Dobson (lower body/long-term injured reserve) and Ryan Pulock (upper body/IR) as sidelined blue-liners.
Both Barzal and Mayfield were injured in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime road win against the Lightning. Barzal, who missed 21 games from Nov. 1-Dec. 12 with an upper-body injury, could not put weight on his left leg after blocking a shot late in the third period.
Roy was asked directly to clarify whether he expected Barzal back before the regular season ends on April 17.
“That I could not tell,” Roy said.
The Islanders, who entered Tuesday’s match four points out of an Eastern Conference wild-card spot, are fighting up to 10 other teams for two playoff positions.
They’ve gotten used to playing with key players injured. In addition to Barzal and the three defensemen currently out, defensemen Alexander Romanov, Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly, forwards Anthony Duclair and Simon Holmstrom and goalies Semyon Varlamov and Marcus Hogberg have all missed long stretches this season.
“By committee,” Brock Nelson said of Barzal’s absence. “You can’t replace a guy like that. His skill and how dynamic he is and just his personality, having him around, it’s going to be a big loss for us. Everybody has to share that weight and try to fill that void as best we can.”
Barzal is a unique player with his skating ability and determination to play with the puck in the offensive zone. That often creates time and space on the ice for his teammates that likely will get a lot tighter now.
“It’s just teamwork,” Anders Lee said. “We’ve had stretches like this before. You’ve got to use each other and create space that way. Give-and-gos, little plays and being on the same page. Barzy has that ability to hold on to the puck for a long time and create space for himself. It’s just a different look.
“It’s a simpler game. That’s just what we’re going to have to do.”
Duclair, who missed 29 games with a lower-body injury from Oct. 22-Dec. 17, has replaced Barzal on Bo Horvat’s line with Lee. But Duclair, signed to a four-year, $14 million deal, has struggled since returning from his injury. He entered Tuesday without a point in his previous four games and only two goals and three assists since rejoining the lineup.
“Tony knows he’s not playing his best hockey,” Roy said. “I talked to him before the Philly game [Thursday’s 3-0 win over the Flyers] and he knows that. But we need him. I know he’s playing with Bo and Anders. They’re both playing very well. I know these guys are going to help him to play his best hockey.”
Notes & quotes: Hudson Fasching (upper body/injured reserve), who missed his 11th game, rejoined the Islanders for the morning skate after a conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport . . . Roy had this reaction to Ilya Sorokin on Monday being named the NHL’s first star of the week after going 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage. “I said to Sorokin the other day, ‘Do you know when I love my backup the most? When they’re sitting on the bench." . . . Matt Martin remained a healthy scratch.