The Islanders have been without Barzal before. To stay in the race, they must keep fighting, like Rocky did against Apollo.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders are back to life without Mathew Barzal after the forward sustained a long-term lower-body injury that will keep him out indefinitely. 

Islanders head coach Patrick Roy was asked about his team getting over the Barzal hump yet again at a time in the season where they need to find ways to garner points. 

"It's funny because I was watching 'Rocky' the other day," Roy said. "At the fight, Rocky was bouncing up and down, and Apollo was looking at him, like, 'What are you doing? Go down,' and Rocky refuses to go down. He did not win the fight, but he won the next one. So you're gonna say to me, yeah, it's a movie, but I think we love people that refuse to go down. We love people who want to battle for their dreams, people who are gonna fight. So that's what we're gonna have to do."

Roy's analogy was great because the Islanders had little success, especially during their first stretch without Barzal, but enough to stay in the thick of things, going 9-7-5. 

Over the last week, they went on a seven-game winning streak, totaling 7-1-0. They battled and battled through injuries, with three new defensemen coming into the fold.

They'll need to continue to be that resilient group to survive life without Barzal again. 

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