Ilya Sorokin chat EAST MEADOW, NY -- Back in the lineup after dealing with a long-term upper-body injury, New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] forward Mathew Barzal will do whatever it takes to help his team win hockey games. "I was open to playing wing. I was open to coming back to center," Barzal told The Hockey News following Thursday's practice. "I'm open to playing on the penalty kill." The Islanders' penalty kill is dead last in the NHL at 64.3 percent, going 0-for-1 on Tuesday night to allow the Hurricanes to strike first. Head coach Patrick Roy isn't ready for Barzal to be on the penalty kill but didn't rule it out going forward. "I mean, he could be an option at some point, but right now, he is not," Roy said. "Everybody has a role to play on the team. And right now, he has the power play and, at 5-on-5, he plays a lot of minutes. We'll see how it goes. But it's certainly not, you know, something that we gonna say no to "I mean, it could be an option, maybe at the end of the penalty kill just to get the momentum going." Barzal played 20:45 in his return to the lineup in their 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4:19 of which came on the power play (0-for-4). In their loss to Carolina, Barzal played 17:17, spending 57 seconds on the power play (0-for-1). "The power play these last two games has been pretty good. We've had some looks, some chances," Barzal said. "It's pretty simple right now with what we need to do. We just need to start scoring." Having Barzal back in the lineup is vital to the Islanders' success going forward, but, especially for someone who possesses the puck as much as he does, it takes time to get back to the level he's capable of. "l feel alright. In Carolina, the legs got a little better, but it's still a work in progress," Barzal said. "So, I am just trying to have a good week of practice here to get my cardio back." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExNTEzNjQ5OTA5NDc0NDYz/usatsi_25013179.jpg] When Barzal re-entered the lineup against Chicago, he lined up down the middle alongside Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau with Bo Horvat out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. But even when Horvat came back in against Carolina, Barzal stayed at center ice, skating with the same linemates. Although Barzal has primarily been a right-winger since Horvat came over from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 20, 2023, he's a natural centerman. As a centerman, the one area of his game that Barzal has struggled with over his career is the face-off dot (career 42.3%). But, splitting face-offs with Pageau over these last few games, he's had some success. He won four of five in Chicago before winning one on three draws in Raleigh. He always works on face-offs after official practice ends: When Barzal initially went to wing, he made it clear that he would rather play on the left than the right. "Well, it kind of helps my delay game, kind of helps my rush game because I'm still more dangerous on that side versus [the other side]," Barzal said two years ago. "You kind of get a little bit closed off on the other side, sticks on the wall. [On the left side, the stick is] in the middle." But now, Barzal tells us that playing on the right is quite alright. "The right side is not bad," No. 13 said. "It might be a little bit harder on the rush. But being on the right allows me to come to the middle a little bit better with my forehand. So, that can help." We'll see how the Islanders line up if and when Anthony Duclair returns to the lineup, likely on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
