Mathew Barzal shows why he's Isles' No. 1 star with nifty OT winner
Mathew Barzal is pumped after his overtime goal gave Islanders a 3-0 series lead. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
Coaching, playing with and watching Mathew Barzal always is an adventure, because no Islander has quite his skill set, and no Islander is quite as unpredictable.
This mostly is a good thing for all concerned, what with the third-year center having won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie and been named to back-to-back All-Star Games.
He even is the reigning fastest skater in the NHL, based on February’s skills competition.
But at 23, he still is a work in progress, like all 23-year-olds. Coach Barry Trotz and his predecessor, Doug Weight, seemed to treat Barzal’s development as pet projects, and for Trotz the project is ongoing.
Sometimes he skates too much and shoots too little. Sometimes he makes untimely turnovers or takes untimely penalties.
And then, inevitably, comes a reminder of what all the fuss is about. It happened 4:28 into overtime on Sunday in Game 3 of the Islanders’ first-round playoff series against the Capitals in Toronto.
Jordan Eberle found Barzal at the blue line, barely onside, and he stormed through the right faceoff circle and around defenseman John Carlson – who at that point had a game-high 27:49 in ice time – then backhanded the puck past goaltender Braden Holtby.
Nifty.
“I run that play a little bit in practice or even games, just to try to sneak behind the ‘D’ a little bit,” he said shortly after securing the Islanders’ 2-1 victory and a 3-0 series lead.
“Timed it perfectly just on the blue line and great heads up play by Ebs, great touch on the pass. I’ve had that play a few times this year and looked 5-hole or looked short side and decided to take this one far post and it paid off.”
It was Barzal’s first career playoff overtime goal. He credited the linesman with “a great play” for not whistling the action dead when it was so close to offside.
“I think sometimes they get a little antsy and make the whistle,” he said. “For him to let it go, it was tight. I knew it was tight.”
But the deftness to avoid the violation itself was an example of Barzal’s gifts. Captain Anders Lee, who scored the other Islanders goal, said teammates are used to this sort of thing.
“Absolutely,” he said. “We get to practice with him and against him all the time, so we see how dynamic he really is, day in and day out. He proves it out there on the ice, too.”
Barzal was relieved by the outcome in part because of a play late in regulation time – which he brought up to reporters unsolicited – on which he was in deep but instead of shooting tried to fake the defender.
“There was a chance late in the third there that I was a bit frustrated on,” he said. “I had a one-on-one with a flat-footed D-man and tried to dangle him and didn’t want it to bite me. Again, just really happy to get the winner.”
One of the biggest question marks surrounding the Islanders is whether their balanced, mostly unflashy corps of offensive options is better suited to the regular season than a deep playoff run.
The answer is inconclusive. They swept and then were swept in two postseason series last year, and now are 6-1 this year.
Truth is, there are many ways to win in the NHL. But for Islanders to make a real run at the Stanley Cup, having their most potent weapon properly deployed is crucial.
“I think Mat, he wants to be that difference-maker, and today he got an opportunity and he capitalized on that,” Trotz said.
“I just like the growth of Mathew. He’s growing all the time as a player, and these experiences are going to help him grow, play the right way, knowing how to play in the playoffs, understanding you have to fight for inches, all those things. So it’s a really good learning process and he’s been accepting the challenges that I’ve given him.”
The challenges will only grow from here.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
