There was some sloppy play Sunday night by the Islanders that left coach Doug Weight frustrated after the game, but there was at least one thing that was clean, crisp and quick: Mathew Barzal.
The Islanders’ 20-year-old center continued to break out, setting a single-game franchise rookie record with five assists to spark a 6-4 win over the Avalanche at Barclays Center.
“His speed is unbelievable,” Dennis Seidenberg said. “He’s gliding. It’s not looking like he’s moving, but he’s just actually flying.”
Two of Barzal’s assists were highlight-reel helpers on Jordan Eberle goals, fueling the Islanders (8-5-1) to their sixth win in the last eight games.
“It was kind of a night where everything went right,” said Barzal, who became the first NHL rookie since 2011 to tally five assists. “I’m more confident every day. Nights like tonight don’t really hurt. Just trying to fit in and make an impact.”
Nick Leddy added a pair of goals to go with an assist while fellow defensemen Scott Mayfield and Johnny Boychuk also scored. Mayfield completed the Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and a fight.
The Islanders continued to excel on the power play, as well. After starting the year 2-for-33 on the man-advantage, they have converted on nine of their last 16 chances. That included two more goals Sunday — both from Leddy — when they needed just 38 seconds on the power play to capitalize.
While the Islanders built up a 6-2 lead by early in the third period, the Avalanche made the final margin look more respectable as Alexander Kerfoot scored two goals in the final 30 seconds.
Weight found irony in the win. He felt the Islanders played some of their best hockey and weren’t rewarded for it in Thursday’s loss to the Capitals. On Sunday, he thought the shorthanded Avalanche outplayed his team, but the Islanders came out with two points instead.
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“[Against the Capitals] we were competing, we executed the game plan and we did it all night and created chances with work ethic and simple plays and smart plays,” Weight said. “We did none of that today.”
Barzal may have been an outlier, putting his quickly developed chemistry with Eberle on full display. The two joined forces on the second line ahead of the Oct. 28 game in Nashville, in which Eberle scored his first two goals of the year. He scored two more against the Avalanche with Barzal’s help.
In the first period, Barzal used some nifty stick work to fly through the offensive zone before dropping a pass back to a trailing Eberle, who connected on a one-timer top shelf for the 2-0 lead.
They did it again early in the third period on a two-on-one. Barzal waited just long enough before flipping a pass over a sprawled-out defender and Eberle finished it off to make it 6-2.
“He has an uncanny ability to find people while he’s shifting his weight and turning away from checks,” Weight said. “You have the hands matching the brain to make those plays.”
Barzal, who entered the game with five assists in his brief 15-game career, now has 10 assists and three goals on the year. He has impressed his teammates, who continually call him a “special player,” but the rookie has been trying to keep his cool all along.
“Some nights, the puck seems to find the back of the net a little easier,” Barzal said. “Everybody seems to be playing hard and guys are finding chemistry. I thought every line was buzzing it in. Power play again was hot, so that’s a big key to scoring goals.”