Matt Barzal’s Alarm Clock Mishap

Matt Barzal described his absence from the lineup as a “healthy scratch” due to, well, an “alarm clock issue.” He made his return to the Islanders’ roster against the Capitals after missing the previous game.

“I missed the bus, even though there was a set time for it,” Barzal explained. “I was there for all the meetings, but, you know, Mathieu [Darche] emphasized the importance of being punctual at the beginning of camp. It’s all about making a strong culture with the team. Unfortunately, I was the first one caught up with my alarm.” This was actually the first time he had ever overslept.

Without Barzal, the Islanders lost 6-2 to the Hurricanes and had to tweak their lineup to include 11 forwards and seven defensemen. They were short on players, and despite efforts to bring in top prospect Cal Ritchie, his flight from New York was canceled due to bad weather.

Fortunately, Ritchie was called up and ready to go against the Capitals.

Barzal mentioned that there was plenty of discussion about the situation, but it didn’t create any hard feelings on either side. “I was definitely feeling it not being on the ice. When I was a kid, if I messed up, my punishment was no gaming time. My dad would even lock me out of shooting pucks in the garage,” he noted, laughing a bit now. “Not playing yesterday was pretty tough. But hey, we’re looking ahead and aiming for a solid game tonight.”

He added that he didn’t feel the need to have a big talk about the incident with his teammates.

This matchup with the Capitals marked the Islanders’ first back-to-back games of the season, a rematch since Washington had defeated them 4-2 earlier on October 11.

In a side note, Alex Ovechkin was just one goal away from hitting the 900 mark as he stepped into the game. Last April, he set an NHL record with his 895th career goal at UBS, passing the legendary Wayne Gretzky.