NY Islanders: Top 3 Mathew Barzal moments of the 2022-23 season

OT-WINNER BEFORE THE BREAK

January was a brutal month for the Islanders to be kind, but it ended on a high note when Barzal scored an OT winner with just 31.5 seconds remaining to give the Islanders a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights and send them into an eight-day All-Star Break on a two-game winning streak

"“I think if it went the other way the last two games, this week would have been tough. So for us to kind of put ourselves right back in the mix is huge going into the break."

Mathew Barzal

Two days later, GM Lou Lamoriello traded for Vancouver Canucks All-Star center Bo Horvat. The Islanders were out of a playoff spot at the time of the trade, and we'll never if the Isles winning the final two games before the break played any role in Lamoriello pulling the trigger on the Horvat deal to help a playoff push that ultimately ended up being successful.