As it turns out, the absence of a key Islanders player did not last that long.
After missing Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers with an illness, Islanders forward Mat Barzal was back on the ice with his teammates Monday morning for practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.
Barzal was all smiles to be back.
“Yeah, I feel better,” said Barzal. “It was kind of a little 24-hour bug. It was nice to get back with the boys. Great win by them. A lot of guys stepped up and played pretty well. I hate missing games so for them to pull one out was a great win. Not being able to play last game sucked but a ton of guys stepped up. That’s just the character of a good locker room.”
It was a win that gave the Islanders a winning road trip and brought them home to Long Island in a playoff spot (tie-breaker over the Flyers who play Monday night) heading into a six-game homestand starting Tuesday night against the Sharks at UBS Arena.
While Barzal missed Saturday’s game, it didn’t diminish the week that he had having notched 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in a pair of games earning him NHL “second star” of the week honors.
“It’s nice,” said Barzal, the Islanders’ leading scorer with 23 points (7 goals and 16 assists). “It’s cool anytime you get recognition like that. There’s been games earlier this year that I thought I might have been even better in but didn’t have any points. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of it going in. The power play has been hot which has been nice but credit to my teammates. They’re burying some chances and some passes I’ve been giving them which is always nice. It’s a team effort.”
And now the Islanders get ready for an extended time at home with games against the Sharks, Blue Jackets, Kings, Maple Leafs, Ducks and Bruins over the next two weeks. It’s a chance for Barzal and the Islanders to enjoy some home cooking and strengthen their position in the Eastern Conference Standings.
“I feel like we’ve been on the road so much lately,” said Barzal. “This homestand is big. We’re in a playoff spot right now and we just gotta keep going.”
It hasn’t been pretty, but Mat Barzal and the Islanders are 4-1-1 over the last six games. There have been injuries and illnesses, but maybe the stars are starting to align for the Islanders.