Mathew Barzal had a hard time flushing Monday's 7-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Mathew Barzal had a hard time flushing Monday's 7-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- The three-day holiday break was a chance for players and coaches to mentally reset, spend time with their loved ones, and give their bodies a chance to recover from the rigorous nightly battles on the ice.
But, for New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal, there was only one thing on his mind: The team's 7-1 loss in front of their fans at UBS Arena on Monday night.
"The break was nice. Well, you know what, it wasn't nice," Barzal told The Hockey News when asked about how his break was. "I wish we played the next day, to be honest with you. I wish we had a game on the 24th to bounce back from what we showed that night on the 23rd.
"It sucked to have a few days where that's all I could really think about."
Their loss to Buffalo was a disaster for a few reasons.
The Sabres had lost 13 straight games (0-10-3) entering Monday night, while the Islanders had come off their most complete win of the season, a 6-3 dominance over the elite Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
That win over Toronto was the first win that showed the potential of what a healthy Islanders' lineup could look like. But Monday's loss, their worst loss of the season, erased any kind of optimism amongst the fan base.
"Well, that was a sour taste in our mouth," Barzal said. "I think everyone in the organization, fans and everybody, had a sour taste after that game. We just gotta forget about it, put it behind us, and focus on the next one."
Forgetting Monday is one thing, but how do the Islanders remember and execute their showing up North, which was the exact blueprint for turning their season around?
"That was who we are. That's at least who we want to be," Barzal said. "If we can find that level of consistency...can't just have it one game once in a while. It's gotta be consistent, and hopefully that starts tomorrow."
The Islanders begin a home-and-home back-to-back with the Pittsburgh Penguins, starting Saturday at 7:30 PM before a 5:30 start on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Long Island is currently in the basement of the Metropolitan Division, five points back of the second wild-card spot in the East.
The Penguins are not in a playoff spot either but are ahead of the Islanders with 37 points, so these upcoming two games are beyond critical.
As the Islanders prepared for Saturday, they had season ticket holders on hand to watch them put in the work.
Barzal, who loved the opening skate at UBS Arena before the start of the season, loved having the fans at Northwell Ice Center for a few reasons.
"It's nice to get to see just how hard you work," Barzal said. "It's not all smiles and laughs all the time. It's hard, it's competitive. And, yeah, just to show them that we work hard behind the scenes."
After the skate, Barzal signed some autographs and took pictures with some of the season ticket holders on hand:
Even though Barzal has been in the NHL for nine seasons, it is still surreal and special to see a kid holding up or donning his No. 13 jersey.
"That was me as a kid, wearing a Crosby jersey or an Ovechkin jersey," Barzal said. "So, to be in this position, it's pretty special."
Here's the latest from head coach Patrick Roy:
There will not be any line changes, as they'll skate like this on Saturday:
Roy also said that there is a plan for goalie Marcus Hogberg to get a game this weekend, but Ilya Sorokin will start Saturday for his 12th straight.