The New York Islanders have developed a reputation for being needy offensively over the last few seasons. Especially since John Tavares left for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Islanders have been searching for that star to lead the entire organization.

Right now, islanders He may not be a perennial MVP candidate, but they have the de facto best player like Mat Barzal. He has been the team’s leading scorer or tied for the lead in six of the last seven seasons. Unfortunately, the Islands received bad news about their best player. The team reported that Barzal returned to Long Island with an upper body injury that required further evaluation.

The team’s first-round pick in the 2015 draft has been the heart and soul of Long Island since his rookie season in 2017-2018, when he recorded 85 points. In the years since, he has been New York’s sole source of attack. He collected at least 60 points in four of seven seasons. He scored 130 goals and 317 assists for 447 points in more than 510 NHL games.

Without Barzal, the offensive burden will be left to fellow forwards Bo Horvat, Kyle Palmieri and others. Brock Nelson. This trio will be tasked with making up for Barzal’s absence, but that’s a tough task to accomplish for the Islanders’ veterans.

That’s mostly because the Islanders have had trouble mounting any offense this season. They scored only 21 goals in 10 matches, corresponding to a very low figure of 2.10 goals per match. Without Barzal islanders The offense will likely struggle even more. Hopefully, for his sake and that of his team, the evaluation will lead to an optimistic diagnosis that will allow Barzal to return to the lineup as soon as possible. Otherwise, it could be a difficult and long period without their best players.

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