The All-Star selections were announced on Jan. 4 and every team will have one skater making the trip to Toronto for the first weekend of February. The New York Islanders have three if not four, skaters worthy of receiving the All-Star nod but only Mathew Barzal has been selected thus far. Noah Dobson, Bo Horvat, and Brock Nelson, who are on pace for a 40-goal season, will have to wait to see if they will also make the trip.
Related: New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal Named 2024 NHL All-Star
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The Islanders’ top-line skater has been unlocked this season. He was given an eight-year extension in the 2022 offseason with the hopes he’d reach his potential, and fast forward to this season, he has done just that. With 10 goals and 29 assists through 37 games, Barzal is a point-per-game player and leads an offense that is scoring 3.05 goals per game. His All-Star selection is well-deserved, and it all started with his pivot as a skater.
Barzal As A Shooter
The common criticism of Barzal was that he wasn’t putting the puck on the net despite possessing a great shot. He’d have open looks to shoot the puck but instead would pass up the scoring opportunities with hopes of finding an open skater in the offensive zone. His career numbers are reflective of his desire to be a playmaker, as he only has 115 goals but 286 assists.
This season, he’s started to shoot the puck more and take advantage of the open looks he’s received on the top line. With Horvat on his line and Dobson often opening up the offense from the point, Barzal is finding more opportunities to generate shots, and he’s making the most of them.
The result is a 10-goal season already under his belt. Barzal’s on pace for a 20-goal season, something he’s only accomplished once in his career (2017-18), and he could end up having a career-high goal total by the end of the season. Better yet, his shot has made the top line tougher to predict for defenses and harder to prepare for. Suddenly, opponents have to play the shooting lanes against Barzal, and that allows him to find open skaters near the net.
Barzal Remains The Playmaker This Team Needs
The top line has Horvat and Ander Lee, two scorers, playing on with Barzal. This dynamic forces Barzal to remain the passer who can set up the other two skaters. His 29 assists are a reminder that he can be the playmaker to carry the top line and, more importantly, make the other skaters on the ice better.
Horvat has a great shot and searches for open ice to snipe the puck to the back of the net. With Barzal on his line, he has found plenty of open looks on the net and scored 16 goals this season as a result. When Horvat was acquired, the hope was that he’d form a strong connection with Barzal, and this season, the Islanders are seeing the two thrive alongside each other. Lee, meanwhile, is the finisher near the net as he often waits for the puck to find him and then buries it to the back of the net. The captain is criticized for being a limited forward, as he doesn’t create a lot of scoring chances, but he’s the skater that rounds out the top line and takes advantage of the elusiveness and speed on the opposite wing.
Last season, Barzal looked like he was a pass-first player, especially since he started the season with zero goals and 19 assists through 18 games. A forward with high upside looked like he would never recover from the loss of Jordan Eberle, a sharpshooter who was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. He remains a passer and a playmaker, but now it’s just part of the many skills he adds to the offense, making him worthy of the All-Star Selection.
Islanders Power Play Turnaround
The Islanders had a hapless power play last season. They scored on only 15.77 percent of opportunities, and that fails to tell the full story. The Islanders had no direction on the man advantage. they lacked a playmaking presence from the point, shooters from the slot and the wing positions, and a skater who could set everything up. Ultimately, the unit was a liability, and it showed in the playoffs with the team scoring only one goal on the man advantage in the six-game series.
This season, the power play is one of the best in the NHL, scoring 23.81 percent of their opportunities. There are a lot of factors in the turnaround. Dobson operates the power play from the point, while Horvat has emerged as the shooter from the slot and bumper position. Then there’s Nelson and Kyle Palmieri stepping up on the wing, with both shooters combining for nine power-play goals. However, the biggest difference is Barzal’s ability to operate in space.
Barzal is starting to handle the puck with more confidence and not only shoot it on the net if needed but also find the open skaters near the net. While he plays the wing on the power play, he takes on more of a rover or freestyle role, and it allows him to pick up the puck and create a scoring chance from any spot in the offensive zone. He has three goals and 10 assists on the man advantage, and it’s reflected in his ability to make the most of the extra ice.
Barzal’s Speed Remains His Top Asset
The Islanders have scored plenty of goals on the rush with Barzal leading the way, and this season has been no exception. His speed in overtime in the Dec. 11 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs allowed him to find Horvat for the game-winning goal as he not only carried the puck up the ice but provided the open shot as well. Barzal creates space for the other skaters on the ice with his speed as he draws opponents to him and allows his linemates more room to operate.
The Islanders have been a slow-paced team in recent seasons, notably with former head coach Barry Trotz favoring the chip and chase to start up the offense rather than zone entries with a skater handling the puck. Under Lane Lambert, they have looked more aggressive and been willing to push the puck up the ice. It’s fueled their top-line success and allowed their most dynamic skater to thrive, as he’s using his best attribute to his advantage.
What Barzal’s Versatility Means For The Islanders
The Islanders now can adapt in the playoffs, specifically on the offensive end of the ice. It was something they struggled to do last season, and it plagued them against the Carolina Hurricanes as they scored only 15 goals in the series and were eliminated in six games.
The top six have the versatility to carry them, notably with Barzal leading the way. When opponents dare him to shoot the puck on the net, he’ll do so to pile up the goals. Likewise, teams that respect his shot will have to watch out for Horvat and Lee’s scoring ability. Speaking of Horvat, he’s added versatility to the center position along with Nelson, giving the Islanders two lines that can adapt to win in multiple ways if needed.
When the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup last season, they were led by two skaters who could adjust in their top six to win games with their playmaking and scoring ability. Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault scored 19 goals and 32 assists in a dominant playoff run. The Islanders have a similar duo, with Barzal and Horvat leading the offense.
The Islanders are still in a tough fight with the Metropolitan Division standings heating up. The New York Rangers remain the team to beat, while the Hurricanes seem to have figured out their goaltending woes, making them look like the juggernaut that reached the Eastern Conference Final last season. Likewise, the Philadelphia Flyers remain competitive 38 games into the season, while the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins look ready to go on a run. However, the Islanders are on pace to finish near the top of the standings, and if they do, there’s a lot of reason to believe they’ll make a push for the Stanley Cup. The confidence stems from Barzal’s ability which this season is at another level.