Islanders Top 3 Players of the Week: Mathew Barzal shines in great week

⭐️ Mathew Barzal

Arguably, nobody on the Islanders had a bigger week than Mathew Barzal. Barzal picked up a point in every game last week and was a big reason why the team did as well as they did. On Sunday in the loss to the Panthers, Barzal was able to find Lee twice for a goal each time, picking up two power play assists.

The center's play rolled over into Wednesday night as well when Barzal was able to find Bailey for a goal to give the Islanders the lead over the Rangers, 2-0. On Friday against the Hurricanes Barzal continued to make his presence felt on the score sheet.

Barzal fed Oliver Wahlstrom on a beautiful pass to put the Islanders on the board, but that wasn't all. Barzal also found Bailey for what would turn out to be the game-winning goal, giving the Islanders the 3-2 lead. Barzal picked up two assists on the night against Carolina and continued to impress with his skating and puck handling.

""Barzy,' when he gets the puck, you're just trying to find open ice. He curled up and the timing worked out well. I was able to put a good move on him and put it in the back of the net."

- Josh Bailey

Against the Avalanche, Barzal continued to get on the score sheet to round out the week. Barzal took over the game on a shift where he found Scott Mayfield to tie the game up at three, after being down, 3-0. On the season now, Barzal has yet to pick up a goal but has 10 points on 10 helpers.

With the week that the Islanders had, they have improved their record to 5-4-0 on the season. It puts them in a much better spot with still a lot of the season left to be played. The Islanders had a strong week last week, one that if it went sideways, it really could have plummeted their outlook moving forward. Thanks to the three stars of the week, the Islanders are building momentum toward looking like their former 2020-21 selves.