The Park Chat With Goring & Trottier New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/mathew-barzal-new-york-islanders-2024-all-star-skills-competition] forward Mathew Barzal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/mathew-barzal-new-york-islanders-2024-all-star-skills-competition] is having his best statistical year since winning the Calder Trophy in 2017-18. With 13 goals and 38 points through 48 games, the Islanders All-Star already has as many points as he had a season ago in 10 fewer games and is at a pace to finish with 86 points, which would be a career-high. The acquisition of Bo Horvat [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/bo-horvat-new-york-islanders-vancouver-canucks-trade-lamoriello] and the ability to play with him this year, as well as a tremendous growth in the club's power play, has all played a vital part in what Barzal's been able to do this season. "I feel like it's always been there," Barzal told the media in Toronto. "It's a matter of points, a matter of our power play clicking now, so that's an extra 10 to 15 points a year. But I do feel like my actual overall play is probably the best it's been in my career. "I think the last five games, five to six games, have been probably five or six of my best games of my career, just overall just with backchecking and takeaways and taking the puck to the net." Barzal has a goal and five assists over his last five outings, with four takeaways. The last five to six games take us back toward the end of the Lane Lambert era, with losses against the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks before Patrick Roy [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/barzal-islanders-are-building-a-blueprint-for-a-championship-under-roy] took over, with the Islanders going 1-2-1 in their last four games before the break. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't huge," Barzal said on the Roy hire. "He's is the man, truly. So much respect for him. Not that I don't have respect for every coach in the NHL, but it's Patrick Roy. I mean three Conn Smythe trophies and four Stanley Cups. Then even just his message early on to our team and me personally, just meant a lot, the things he spoke to me about. It's cliche, but you honestly want to run through a brick wall for him. "I feel like me personally, and the rest of our team, a lot of guys' games have elevated over the last four games, and that's not to say anything about our previous coaches -- like they did a heck of a job and were extremely detailed and we played a lot of good hockey under those coaches too -- but honestly Lou felt like he had to make a change. And, I think, if you were going to bring in a guy, Patrick was the perfect guy." Since Roy has taken over, Barzal has said all the right things, bringing a newfound, direct honesty to the table about the issues that were prevalent toward the end of Lambert's time. Barzal also looked rather strong on the ice, clearly grasping and implementing what Roy wanted to see, and it paid off for No. 13. Through four games, Barzal has five points, with a goal and four assists, three assists being primary helpers. He fed Alexander Romanov in transition to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead early against the Dallas Stars in Roy's first game behind the Blue and Orange bench. Barzal's board pass to Bo Horvat in overtime led to the game-winning goal to give New York the 3-2 lead and Roy's first win: No. 13 finished the night with two assists, two shots, three takeaways, no giveaways, and a block in 20:29 minutes. Despite no points against Vegas, in a 3-2 loss, Barzal was on the ice for Brock Nelson's 1-1 tying goal, garnering two shots, a hit, two giveaways, and a block in 25:11 minutes of action. Against Montreal, in a 4-3 loss, Barzal had a goal and an assist, feeding Horvat on the power play to get the Islanders on the board in the second period before scoring on a late power play in the third to cut the Islanders deficit to one: Barzal finished his night with two points on nine shots, with one giveaway in 26:31 minutes. Then, in the final game of the week, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers, Barzal earned another point, getting a secondary assist on Kyle Palmieri's tying tally late in the third period, In 23:32, Barzal had a point, with one shot and one giveaway in 23:42 minutes. Despite the lack of results, it was an impressive week for Barzal, and fans should be excited to see just how strong his overall game can become under Roy. "Just look at our game," Barzal said. "Wins and losses are one thing, but then, on a daily basis, we're building a blueprint that is going to allow us to become champions." You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York [http://hockeynightny.com/] with co-host Sean Cuthbert [https://twitter.com/seanyhockey] live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season on Twitch [https://www.twitch.tv/hockeynightny], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@hockeynightny], Twitter [https://twitter.com/hockeynightny] & Facebook [https://facebook.com/hockeynightny].
