IRVINE, Calif. — As Mat Barzal creeps up on 600 games in the NHL, he’s thought more and more about his own maturity as a hockey player.
His rookie season still feels like yesterday, but Barzal, as analytical and willing to examine himself as any player in the league, knows well just how different a player he is now.
It’s at the heart of his recent hot streak, with 14 points in the last 10 games on either side of the Olympic break.
“I feel like as I’ve gotten older in this league, I used to get frustrated in the first period when we didn’t score, I miss a chance,” Barzal told The Post after the Islanders practiced Tuesday. “And now, just let the game come to me. I like to go after the game early on, but [recognize] what the night is gonna be.
“Sometimes the night is gonna be stingy, there’s not gonna be much offense created, so I know that I’m locking in on a chance or two that I have. Making sure that if I only get two chances a night, I’m putting something in. I think I’ve come a long way that way.”
This time of year, that description applies in part, and often in whole, to most games. The Islanders have started slow in all three of their games since the break, and road games in the dog days of the season tend to take on a stingy feel.
Finding your way into production on nights like those is simply a requirement for a player with the sort of minutes burden and expectation that Barzal carries.
That’s just what he’s been doing this year. Take Sunday night as an example. The Islanders, especially early in the game, struggled to generate much momentum.
Barzal and linemates Bo Horvat and Ondrej Palat, seemed to be the only trio that could create on the forecheck or hold the puck in the zone.
Lo and behold, they were on the ice for three of the Islanders’ four goals at 5-on-5. On the second night of a back-to-back, that’s exactly what the Isles needed from their top line.
“I love the energy they have,” coach Patrick Roy said. “The speed, how fast they were playing. For some reason when your top line plays that way, you do believe you’re going to come back in that way. … They were buzzing, they were controlling.”
It’s been talked about plenty over the years that Barzal seems to click with Horvat on a higher level than most. Palat, a terrific player on the walls and retrieving pucks down low with a high hockey IQ, might be the third guy who can unlock the top line further.
It’s a small sample, but in eight games together, the trio has a 6-3 scoring margin with a 55.36 expected goals rate, driving a five-game winning streak the Isles will look to defend Wednesday night in Anaheim.
“He doesn’t have to go out there and try to be that guy,” Barzal said of Palat. “He is that guy who forechecks and strips pucks, wins battles down low. There’s no faking it with him. He’s been that guy for a long time. He’s been great at it.
“He knows where to go. He knows how to get open. He knows for him to be effective, it requires him forechecking and stripping pucks. It comes natural to him. He’s been playing like that since I’ve known him, at least, in the league.”
For the time being at least, it’s helped unlock Barzal. And his own evolution hasn’t hurt either.
“I think a lot of it comes from maturing,” he said. “Understanding my emotions. I’ve played in 600 games. Knowing the ups and downs. Knowing that, hey, something didn’t go in the first, I’m gonna get another look in the second. Just bear down. A lot of it comes from emotional maturity.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
