Barzal's speed post-injury: Numbers reveal a slight dip but still elite performance. Is his explosive stride truly impacted?
ELMONT, NY -- After working his way back from a long-term knee injury, everyone wondered how New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal would look this season.
He sustained the knee injury on Feb. 1 late in the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning, before undergoing a minor knee procedure shortly after. He missed the rest of the season.
This summer, Barzal worked incredibly hard to make sure he'd be 100% healthy come the start of the season. But being 100% healthy and being in game shape are two different things.
Early on, Barzal was flying around looking like himself. Back at center, he was commanding the middle of the ice.
The Islanders have been very proactive with No. 13, as he missed a morning skate early in the season for what the team called "load management". It was understandable, as it's incredibly likely that at points during the season, his knee may need some extra rest.
While he hasn't missed the last two morning skates because of the knee -- the issue lately stems from something that occurred in their 3-2 shootout win against the Tampa Bay Lightning last Saturday -- a few days off from the knee, even if it's not ailing him, will only be beneficial.
Latest On Islanders' Bo Horvat & Mathew Barzal
Horvat's lower-body injury sidelines him, but he's skating. Barzal's maintenance day stems from a recent game, but he's expected to play.
There have been many comments about Barzal's skating speed at times this season. So I took a gander at NHL Edge to compare Barzal's speed from before the injury to where he ranks as of Friday, to see just how far off he is from his pre-injury pace.
During the 2023-24 season, in which Barzal played 80 games, he ranked in the 97th percentile with a max speed of 23.58 MPH. He had 22 bursts of 22+ MPH (98th percentile) and 314 bursts of 20-22 MPH (99th percentile).
In 2024-25, where Barzal played just 30 games before the knee injury, Barzal recorded a max speed of 22.78 MPH. There's no point in looking at where he ranked in terms of bursts because he didn't play enough for those numbers to tell us much.
That brings us to this season, 2025-26.
So far, through 33 games, Barzal has had a max speed of 22.43 MPH (72nd percentile), a 0.34 MPH decrease from last season. He has seven bursts of 22+ MPH (94th percentile)
He has 120 bursts of 22-24 MPH (99th percentile) and 328 bursts of 18-20 MPH (98th percentile).
Now, like any stats, this doesn't tell the whole story. Are the games where Barzal looks faster than in others? Yes. Are there games where Barzal looks faster in one period as opposed to the next? Sure.
But overall, Barzal's skating still puts him among the NHL's elites. The drop-off hasn't been as significant as some have made it out to be.
As we saw with Anders Lee's ACL injury or Anthony Duclair's torn groin last season, not only does it take time to feel 100%, but it also takes time to get comfortable skating. I mean, it took Lee a few years to find his legs. It took Duclair the entire second half of the season and this past summer to feel back to full strength.
Every player is different and Barzal knows his body better than anyone. The good news is that whatever is bothering him, it hasn't dramatically affected his ability to wheel on the ice.
In 33 games this season, Barzal has nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points, averaging 21:09 minutes per game.