Rekindling Chemistry Vital for Islanders Barzal & Horvat
As we approach the start of training camp, we had the chance to speak with New York Islanders forwards and linemates Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, who are looking to rekindle their chemistry.
For the first time in Mathew Barzal's NHL career, the New York Islanders brought in a player to complement him when they acquired Bo Horvat ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline.
Before Horvat stepped on the practice ice, he inked an eight-year extension, as he and Barzal are now under contract through the 2030-31 season.
However, there was one caveat to the acquisition, and that was Barzal moving from center to wing.
That positional realignment is easier than going from wing to center, but it certainly isn't one that just works out overnight.
Through six games together, it was clear Barzal and Horvat had chemistry, with their strong five-on-five game seeping into the power play, a collective unit that was struggling mightily and needed the added boost.
Unfortunately for Barzal, Horvat, and the Islanders, the new duo was put on pause for over two months as Barzal suffered an ankle injury, putting an end to his regular season on Feb. 18.
Barzal did return for the playoffs, and although he said he was 100 percent healthy, he just didn't look like himself.
Ahead of the start of training camp, both are eager to rekindle their chemistry as quickly as possible.
"Hopefully, we can rekindle what we had," Horvat said. "I mean, it was a lot of fun to play with him when he was healthy.
"It was tough for him, especially him coming back into a playoff series the way he did. It's never easy. And I'm just looking forward to both of us getting a training camp under our belt and kind of hitting the ground running."
Although we haven't seen what the line combinations will be like this season, Barzal hinted that he and Horvat will be together.
"That's the plan right now," Barzal said. "Like I said last year, when he first got in, we were flying, and then, the playoffs, I was coming back from injury, so I just couldn't really quite find it, like we probably wanted to.
"But you look at the skill sets and whatnot, [us together] should work, so looking forward to it."
Because both have the ability to play center, it's rather likely that both will be occupying the center of the ice, regardless of who is lined up where to start the play.
"Talking to Lane a little bit, we both are gonna have the freedom to kind of just play instinctively," Barzal said. "Horvat's obviously a beast in the circle (56.9% in 2022-23), he'll take a lot of face-offs.
"But, I'm sure if there's a situation where I'm in the middle and he's on the wall, then we'll just roll with it. We're both smart enough to adjust on the fly. And we'll just go from there to kind of just let instincts take over."
Islanders head coach Lane Lambert had this to say regarding Barzal.
"The one thing about Barzy is he's willing to play wherever in order to help the team win," Lambert said. "That's what good players do.
"He's growing into a little bit more of a leadership role for our hockey team. So that's what he's done, and he's willing to move, to do whatever it takes to help our team win."
We will see both Barzal and Horvat take the initial steps to rekindling their chemistry when training camp begins on Thursday.
