The New York Islanders’ never-ending onslaught of injuries might have just claimed its most important name yet, as the team announced Monday that star forward Mathew Barzal is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
The 27-year-old suffered the injury when he took a shot to his right knee during the third period of New York’s overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, which at the time extended their win streak to seven games.
An indefinite designation suggests that the rest of Barzal’s season is in serious jeopardy. He missed 21 games earlier this year due to an upper-body injury and had tallied six goals with 14 assists in the 30 games he managed to appear in.
Usually the playmaking engine of the Islanders’ attack, Barzal entered the 2024-25 season expected to be the fixture of a first-line that was supposed to feature Bo Horvat and Anthony Duclair, who signed with New York over the summer. The trio, however, appeared in just five games together as Duclair missed two months with a leg injury.
Barzal’s absence might just be the most noticeable void within a roster that has been bitten ceaselessly by the injury bug this season. While backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov remains on the shelf, the defense has been ripped apart, with Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, and Mike Reilly all currently sidelined. Scott Mayfield is also day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
It has forced general manager Lou Lamoriello to scramble, signing Tony DeAngelo, Scott Perunovich, and Adam Boqvist within the last week-and-a-half to keep the blue line afloat.
Despite all the absences, though, the Islanders have been playing some of their best hockey. Their seven-game winning streak was snapped on Sunday night in Florida against the Panthers, but they sit just four games out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.
Duclair stepped in at Barzal’s spot on the right wing of the first line on Sunday, which is a responsibility that should remain his for the foreseeable future.
