Islanders Mathew Barzal All In On Patrick Roy's System Tweaks: 'Music To My Ears'

Oh, was New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal pumped after their 3-2 comeback win in overtime against the Dallas Stars Sunday night.

Yes, setting up Bo Horvat in the extra frame for the game-winner is sure to catapult the energy level, but given the emotional 24 hours prior — with Lane Lambert being fired after a winless road trip and Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Roy taking the reigns — it didn’t feel like just another win.

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After one skate, Roy told his players that he had some changes he wanted to make and tried to implement as much as possible ahead of the game against Dallas.

“I’m gonna say a cliche here, but defense wins championships, doesn’t it? So we’re gonna start worrying about our defense,” Roy said following Sunday’s morning skate.

So, it’s clear that his focus will be on the Islanders’ defensive play, which analytically- and eye-test-wise- has been one of the worst in the NHL this season.

Former Islanders head coach Barry Trotz (2018-2021) preached defense-first, turning the Islanders into the most disciplined, best shutdown team in the NHL for most of his tenure.

But that structure limited puck possession time and offensive chances, which proved too challenging to play over an 82-game season.

It stifled the ability of the face-of-the-franchise, Barzal, to play to his potential.

When Lambert took over following the 2021-22 season, he opened up the offense a bit, which weakened their defensive play, and ultimately led to them needing to play catchup to make the postseason.

Although Barzal missed the entirety of the second half with a lower-body injury — missing out on building a strong relationship with Horvat — No. 13 had been averaging over a point per game since the season began.

But similar to his Calder Trophy season, winning wasn’t happening consistently, so the points, essentially, meant nothing.

While Roy is preaching defense, focusing on getting the Islanders to cut down on their turnovers to limit those high-danger chances against, Barzal was actually thrilled about the new game plan despite what a defensive system has meant in the past.

“I think every coach has a certain philosophy on certain things,” Barzal said. “And I think Patty was preaching — this has nothing to do…I’m not taking anything away from what we’ve been told in the past because both sides of that can be effective — but I think Patty’s philosophy seems to be a bit more possession, a little bit more aggressiveness all over the ice. And I thought it translated well.

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Despite no longer being a centerman, Barzal is still a puck possessor, especially in transition, and having a system that is more defensively sound that also allows the Islanders All-Star to play to his strengths is the best of both worlds.

“We got long-range defenseman that can make it hard on other teams. So gaps are a big thing that he’s preached already,” Barzal said. “And holding the puck, wanting to tilt the ice.

“So that’s music to my ears.”

In Barzal’s first game under Roy, he notched another two points, as he now has 48 points (12 goals, 36 assists) in 45 games.

When Barzal is going, the Islanders are going. And when the club’s best player buys in — along with other leaders like Anders Lee and Bo Horvat — the rest of the team will follow suit, and the wins will start coming consistently.

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