TORONTO — Three months ago, Mathew Barzal wondered what he could do on the top line with Bo Horvat and Anthony Duclair, what heights this trio would take the Islanders, and how he'll represent Canada in February. I was imagining what it would be like to play.
It took just five games of the season for that plan to hit a speed bump in the form of Duclair going down with a suspected groin injury, but five more games before Barzal's own injury ended the plan completely. Crazy, he lost a shot. The Islanders are at a disadvantage in the national team selection process, which they have yet to recover from.
All signs point to the Islanders finally playing close to their full strength in Saturday night's game against the Maple Leafs, with Duclair throwing everything in Friday's practice and coach Partick Roy on alert. He admitted that he made a decision during the match just for the sake of it. Looks like he's going to play. ”
However, it's one thing to look like you're at your best, but it's another to actually be at 100%.
Barzal saw that in his first game back from an upper-body injury.
“Anyone who comes back after six weeks; [even if] Even though I scored here and there, I still don't feel 100 percent,” Barzal told the Post on Friday. “As for the actual injury, I'm 100 percent, but I have to get my legs and lungs back up.”
In his first two games back, No. 13 described himself as “OK,” but the inflection in his tone suggested that OK was still far from where he wanted to be. In those two games, losses to Chicago and Carolina, Barzal had some notable moments of untimely timing, but he failed to score and was minus-3.
His speed and skating still gives the Islanders extra dimension, but he still doesn't have the same impact on games as he did last year, when he reached the 80-point mark for the first time since his rookie season.
“Try to work on it in practice now,” Barzal said. “If you work up a good sweat and get your heart rate up, you'll get in shape faster. That's really all there is to it. It's obviously no fun coming back from an injury and having to get your cardio back up.” But that's the reality. I can only work on it.”
Barzal has yet to pair with Horvat on the line, but that trend looks set to continue in Toronto.
If Friday's practice is any indication, it looks like the trio that made up the opening day top line will be completely split up against the Leafs. That's because Duclair lined up with Brock Nelson, Horvat lined up between Max Tsyplakov and Simon Holmstrom, and Barzal lined up with Anders Lee and Jean. -Gabriel Pageau.
It's a trade-off between having a deeper lineup and a legitimate scoring line, and Roy is currently opting for a deeper lineup.
“I like having [Barzal] As a center because he can skate more with the puck,” Roy said. “I feel like it's easier for him. I think that's his natural position in a way. What I like is that we have centers like us — Nellie, Bo, him. , Casey [Cizikas]. It's much more difficult for other teams to compete against.”
On paper he's right, but whether that translates to the ice remains to be seen.
The Islanders (12-14-7) may finally be back on track, but they can't afford to take into account that it will be a few more weeks before they actually start playing like that.
Accumulating points and doing so now is urgently important to avoid stalling the season.
“There's not an ounce of faith lost in this room,” Barzal said. “That's one thing that's been consistent since I've been here. No matter where we are in the standings, I'm confident we can always push.”
The Islanders need to make that push happen soon, and they need their returning stars to be at the forefront of that.
