New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal is feeling more comfortable as this playoff series has progressed after missing significant time.
Anytime a player misses significant time with an injury, there's a grace period needed to get reacclimated with the speed and skill of the National Hockey League.
New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal missed the final 23 games of the regular season, so anyone that thought he would jump into playoff hockey and be the usual Barzal -- a player whose game is predicated on his legs working his way back from a lower-body injury -- was not being realistic.
It's been a grind through the first five games for Barzal, shaking off the rust with every shift meaning so much in the grand scheme of things.
But as each game has passed, one could tell Barzal is getting more comfortable. And although his minutes were limited in Tuesday night's 3-2 win to stave off elimination, he came through with the eventual game-winning goal.
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Barzal and former linemate Bo Horvat -- who Islanders head coach Lane Lambert separated early in the first period -- found themselves on a two-on-one late in the second period, and Barzal wired home his second of the postseason to give New York a 3-1 lead.
The goal came at four-on-four after Noah Dobson negated an Islanders' power play with an "interference" penalty.
"You can just try to read the play," Barzal said postgame. "Bo (Horvat) is a one-timer, so I always say, anytime you can get a guy with his goalscoring ability the puck in that situation, it's a good chance, but I thought Burns did a good job of taking the pass away, so it forced me to shoot,..just picked a spot."
That goal was Barzal's second goal of the series, scoring back in Game Two, a 3-2 overtime loss.
Although his goal came in the win this time, his emotions and mindset were still the same.
"Well, it's nice. The game was 2-1 at the time, so it was nice to just relieve a little bit of pressure getting that two-goal lead, so that's always big," Barzal said.
"It's nice scoring for about a minute and then straight back to just refocused, doing anything you can to win."
Barzal finished the contest with a goal on two shots, with a block and one giveaway in 12:30 TOI.
Barzal played 6:13 with Pageau and Lee at five-on-five and just 1:03 with Horvat and Lee.
On the advanced metrics, courtesy of NaturalStatrick.com, Barzal created two scoring chances and one high-danger chance, which was the goal.
The Hockey News asked Islanders head coach Lane Lambert on Wednesday why the limited minutes for his game-changing forward.
"A little bit situational." the first-year head coach said.
Through five games, Barzal has two goals on 12 shots, with three blocks, four hits, and 11 giveaways, averaging 17:11.
After the win, THN asked Barzal where he felt his game was at after missing so much time.
"It feels not bad. This is the playoffs, and it really just doesn't matter how you're feeling. It's just about doing whatever you can to get a win so fortunate to get a goal tonight," Barzal said. "I feel like handling the puck and skating through the neutral zone and just the speed of the game, I've got back into rhythm a little more the last couple of games, so yeah, just get a little bit smoother every night."
Islanders captain Anders Lee has liked the progress from no. 13.
"I think he's progressed really well. I think it's a tough thing to come back from, let alone hop right into a fast-paced series with Carolina, so I think his game's coming around, and he's playing very strong," Lee said. "He has that ability to be a game changer and make plays all over the ice but also take a shot and make it."
The New York Islanders will need Mathew Barzal to continue to progress as they are still fighting for their lives when the puck drops Friday night for Game Six.