Invisible Is an Understatement for Mathew Barzal
Mathew Barzal has not met expectations thus far and has been invisible throughout the postseason. Through eight postseason games, Barzal has yet to score a goal, and his four assists are not good enough for a player of his caliber. Is Barzal in a slump or is it his linemates? The answer is both.
Ever since Anders Lee went down with a season-ending injury, Barzal has not been the same. Leo Komarov is not Anders Lee. No one is. The chemistry between Barzal, Lee, and Jordan Eberle is immaculate. MoneyPuck ranked the Lee-Barzal-Eberle line tied for fifth among all lines with a 65.6% for expected goals (min. 100 minutes). Without Lee, the makeshift first line consisting of Komarov-Barzal-Eberle is at 59% for expected goals (min. 100 minutes). So is it his linemates? Yes.
Barzal has had numorus oppuntunites to score but needs to capitzlize. He has had multiple two-on-ones, breakaways, shots wide all so far for nothing, no goals to show for. Mat Barzal can certainly be in a slump but the absence of Anders Lee is definitely a factor. During the 2018-19 playoffs, Barzal had two goals and seven points through eight games played, and in the 2019-20 playoff run, Barzal had five goals and 17 points through in 22 games.
Those stats further show that Barzal is in a slump but not having Lee along his side is also a problem.
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As stated earlier, Barzal currently has four points through eight games played. The Islanders are still in it and are tied with the Boston Bruins in a best of seven series. The Bruins have a roster full of talent, as do the Islanders but their star player needs to contribute more. The Islanders’ past postseason success has started from Barzal. Since he has entered the league in 2017, Barzal has 28 postseason points.
Fans like to say Barzal has been invisible thus far, and that is an understatement. If the Islanders want to make another big playoff push as they did last year and go even further, they’ll need all hands on deck which starts with the former Calder Trophy winner, Mathew Barzal.
Writer for Drive4Five covering the New York Islanders.
