Islanders' Mathew Barzal: Tickles twine and slides apple

Barzal registered a goal on three shots, an assist and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Sharks.

Barzal collected both of his points in the second period Saturday, as he opened the scoring at 8:47 before setting up Noah Dobson's sixth goal of the season with under a minute left. Barzal is enjoying his most productive stretch of the campaign, having accumulated three goals, five helpers and a plus-8 rating through seven outings in January. The right-shot forward played alongside Bo Horvat for much of 2023-24, but head coach Patrick Roy has separated the two at even strength for most of this season. Barzal has struggled at times as a result, but he's found success on the top line lately with Brock Nelson and Anders Lee.