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To call the first half of the season a disappointment for Mathew Barzal would be something of an understatement.
He missed six weeks due to injury and — coming off his best season in years — didn’t produce when healthy, struggling before getting hurt and taking time to look fully recovered upon returning.
Lately, though, Barzal has looked more and more like his usual self — and never more so than on Saturday, when he notched his first multipoint game of the season as the Islanders beat Utah 2-1 on his game-winning goal.
“Barzy came through for us,” coach Patrick Roy said. “He got a great assist on the first one, he scored that [second] one, he was around the net. He cut in front of the net, so those are the things that we need from him and he’s a leader on this team. Tonight he came through.”
Since returning from an upper-body injury on Dec. 15, Barzal has said more than once that he’s still getting up to speed, and expressed frustration at his play.
He was angry again going into the third period on Saturday after his line had accounted for numerous chances during the first 40 minutes while failing to score.
Not so much after a cathartic celebration punctuated the Islanders’ comeback.
“I think he’s hard on himself,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “He’s one of our best, or the best player for us every night since he’s back. His work ethic is outstanding. You see him with the puck, without the puck, he wants to fight for that puck. He’s competing. When he missed that [time], I think we’re all noticing it.”
It’s true that Barzal is his own biggest critic at times, but that’s not without reason.
He knows how important he is to the Islanders.
He knows there is no run to the playoffs coming if he can’t turn his season around.
He knows his season so far — injury or not — has not been enough.
There’s still time to turn it around, though.
And if Saturday is any indication, that might be just what’s happening.
“It felt great cause we’re battling for a playoff spot,” Barzal said. “Boys worked too hard [Saturday] to not win. It meant a lot.”
Saturday was the first time all season that the Islanders won a game while scoring fewer than three goals.
Marcus Hogberg also became the first third-string netminder to win a game for the Islanders since Cory Schneider in April 2022.
The Islanders did not hold practice Sunday after returning from Utah.
