The Islanders welcomed Mathew Barzal back to the practice ice on Friday morning.
The Islanders welcomed Mathew Barzal back to the practice ice on Friday morning.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- After missing the last two days of practice, New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal was back Friday morning.
Despite playing the entirety of the Islanders' 2-1 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, with Barzal being stopped to end the breakaway challenge, No. 13 did not skate Wednesday due to maintenance.
Following that practice, head coach Patrick Roy had no concerns regarding his superstar.
The concerns went out the window when Barzal took the ice with his teammates for practice at MetLife Stadium Thursday afternoon ahead of their Sunday Stadium Series matchup against the New York Rangers.
But after the group took their team picture on the ice, Barzal left the ice, got undressed in the locker room, and watched the remainder of practice from the Islanders bench.
"I'm pretty confident he's going to be in the lineup on Sunday," Roy said following the skate.
As for what is ailing Barzal, we do not know. But he's feeling good.
"It was just like being overly cautious about something. All good," Barzal said following practice. "It was minor. Super minor. If it was anything serious I wouldn't have skated today. I probably should have skated yesterday, but I'm overly cautious with days off between games."