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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 18: Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders skates against the Washington Capitals at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Capitals defeated the Islanders 6-4. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Mathew Barzal Dives

Look, he does. After today it’s obvious.

It’s never fun to look our own players and state that they’re doing something that is frowned upon. But today, Mathew Barzal absolutely dived on a tripping call.

Check out the play here.

Of course, Gaudette gets his stick on Barzal’s skate (the only one on the ice). But the leg that goes flying in the air is the one not currently on the ice and then Barzal quite clearly jumps forward while in control of the puck.

Barry does not agree with my take:

#Isles Barry Trotz said he was disappointed in embellishment call on Mathew Barzal because he thought it was a "common sense" call. Stick was driven into Barzal's skates as he had the puck and he had no reason to embellish.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) February 1, 2020

Barzal was getting the tripping call anyways and he just decided to make sure the refs were going to award him the call by going to the ice…with gusto.

This is why the refs don’t give Barzal the benefit of the doubt. They feel he’s trying to buy calls up-and-down the ice. It could also have something to do with the non-stop sawing at the zebras when Barzal is on the ice.

This needs to change from Barzal. With the way he plays, he’s going to draw penalties. He doesn’t need to get involved in the dark arts of drawing penalties to get his team a call. And until he realizes this, embellishments calls will continuously be called against him.

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