With the New York Islanders' offense struggling early against the Washington Capitals on Friday night, head coach Patrick Roy elected to change up his lines, reuniting Mathew Barzal with Bo Horvat after Calum Ritchie proved rather quickly that he could handle the second-line center duties in his first game up with the club. 

The Islanders were able to win the game, with Barzal scoring the empty-net goal to seal the deal in a 3-1 victory. The question was, would the Islanders start their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday the way they ended on Friday?

Why Ritchie At 2C & Barzal With Horvat Is The Islanders’ Best Formula The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders">New York Islanders</a> snapped their three-game skid last night, beating the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals">Washington Capitals</a> 3-1.

The answer was yes and while offense was hard to come by at UBS Arena against the Blue Jackets, the Horvat-Barzal duo was cooking. 

In the four periods since the change, the two have picked up right where they left off from last season.

In just over 18 minutes together at 5v5 since Friday night, the Islanders are outshooting opponents 18-8, shot attempts 31-14, scoring chances 18-10, and high danger shot attempts 10-6 when those two are on the ice, per NaturalStatrick.com. 

When the entire line has been on the ice, adding Emil Heineman (14:54 TOI), the Islanders have outshot their opponents 17-7, outscoring them 17-9. 

While the Islanders have just one goal in this span -- a Bo Horvat snipe on an odd-man rush against the Capitals -- the ice has unsurprisingly been heavily tilted in the Islanders' favor.

The Islanders have allowed two goals when those two have been on the ice, but own a 1.31 Expected Goals Against. 

While that lines production is incredibly important, the second line has also been dynamite. 

When the line of Jonathan Drouin, Calum Ritchie, and Kyle Palmieri has been on the ice (15:10 TOI), the Islanders have not allowed a shot on goal, outshooting the opposition 8-0, owning a 0.08 Expected Goals Against, allowing just two scoring chances, with seven of their own. 

Whether Roy sticks with his current line combinations is yet to be determined, but Sunday's contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets was incredibly promising, with the Islanders setting a season high in shots on goal (39) and expected goals (5.03), according to MoneyPuck.com. 

Horvat, Barzal and the Islanders host the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at 7 PM ET, looking to win their second straight game. 

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Stefen Rosner contributed to this story.