Islanders' Bo Horvat reacts to devastating Mathew Barzal injury
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The New York Islanders received devastating news after their game on Wednesday. Forward Mathew Barzal will miss time with an upper-body injury. He did not play on Friday when the Islanders defeated the Buffalo Sabres. And at this time, there is no timeline for Barzal’s return to the ice. After Friday’s game, Bo Horvat reacted to the news.
“It [stinks], and it’s not ideal,” the Islanders forward said, via NHL.com. “But again, guys have gone down in the past and the other guys have stepped up, and that’s going to be the exact same thing going forward. We’ve got the guys in here to do it, and we have to get it done.”
Barzal was off to an up and down start to the 2024-25 campaign. He had two goals and five points in 10 games before the injury. However, the Islanders forward had not recorded a point at 5v5 play. In any event, New York is certainly going to miss Barzal on the ice given his presence at the top of the lineup.
Islanders looking for players to step up without Mathew Barzal
Mathew Barzal certainly struggled to begin the season. However, Barzal has shown to be one of the best players on the Islanders’ roster. His absence certainly messes with the team’s ability to score goals and generate offense. As a result, someone will need to step up their game.
“It’s definitely tough losing him,” veteran forward Casey Cizikas said, via NHL.com. “But it’s next man up. We need everybody pulling together. We need everybody stepping up. And that’s the biggest thing now. We have big shoes to fill, and it’s a good test for us as a group and how we’re going to respond to it.”
Scoring goals is something the Islanders have struggled with early on. In fact, their shutout loss on Wednesday marked the fourth time in their first 10 games New York went without a goal. This is the first time the Islanders have experienced such a stretch to begin the season.
Injury issues elsewhere have not helped matters, either. The Islanders signed Anthony Duclair in NHL Free Agency this summer. But Duclair suffered an injury on October 19 and has not played since. He was initially expected to miss four to six weeks.
The Islanders could certainly see some of their depth players step up in the coming weeks. Barzal’s injury is going to put a strain on an already struggling offense. However, Barzal’s health is most important at this time. Hopefully he returns without complication once he is fully cleared to return to the ice.
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