CHICAGO — Two topics surrounded Mathew Barzal on Tuesday.
First, the natural center was back on Bo Horvat’s wing as the Islanders concluded a two-game road trip against Chicago at United Center. Coach Patrick Roy cited other lineup concerns for reuniting the two for the first time since Nov. 7, but the fact remains that the Islanders have not scored enough lately and putting the two top-six pivots together theoretically improved the potential for goals.
Second was simply Barzal’s availability to play after avoiding anything beyond the maximum $5,000 fine meted out for the five-minute slashing major and game misconduct he received for using his hockey stick like a baseball bat against agitator Mason Marchment in retaliation for the two hard penalties he took against No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer in Sunday’s 4-2 loss in Columbus.
“Earlier in the game, he took a run at Schaef and I thought it was high,” Barzal said in his first comments since being ejected at 1:37 of the second period. “On the second play, I look back and I see Schaef on the ground and the same guy seems to be the culprit. It was a split-second decision. I didn’t go after a knee or a wrist.
“Any time you get kicked out, maybe you’re thinking it could come,” Barzal added when asked whether he was worried about a suspension. “I personally thought they made the right call. [Marchment] played the rest of the game. Schaef’s our guy. Anyone who wants to run around and go after an 18-year-old, it’s just not going to fly in this dressing room and we’ve made that clear as a group.”
That out of the way, Barzal was able to turn his attention toward helping the Islanders regain some scoring mojo. The loss to the Blue Jackets marked the seventh straight game the Islanders have scored two goals or fewer.
“We’ve always had success in the past and good chemistry,” Horvat said of reuniting with Barzal. “We’re looking for a bit more offense. If we play well on the defensive side of the puck, our chances are going to come.”
Of course, Barzal and Horvat also play together on the first power play unit and that hasn’t produced of late, a big reason why the two-goal barrier has been so tough to crack.
The Islanders went 0-for-7 on the power play in the first two games Horvat was back in the lineup after a five-game absence because of a lower-body injury. They entered Tuesday’s match 19-for-123 (15.4%) on the season, ranked 28th among 32 NHL teams.
Top-six wing Kyle Palmieri’s season-ending left knee injury on Nov. 28 also must be considered a significant factor when it comes to the Islanders’ scoring struggles. The Islanders scored two goals or fewer in 11 of the first 14 games they played without Palmieri.
On Tuesday, Roy placed Emil Heineman on Horvat’s other wing along with Barzal while re-inserting rookie Cal Ritchie after he was a healthy scratch for the first time against the Blue Jackets. Jean-Gabriel Pageau also remained at center after Roy tried him on Ritchie’s wing two games ago. The hardest decision for Roy was altering the fourth line, with Anthony Duclair skating with Casey Cizikas and Marc Gatcomb while Kyle MacLean was a healthy scratch for the first time since Nov. 26.
“We’re going to try different things all year,” Roy said. “We wanted Ritchie to be back in the lineup and we want him to play as a center and we have Pager. [The fourth line], that was a tough one, I won’t lie. I thought Anthony Duclair had a great game against Columbus. There’s going to be heartbreaking decisions sometimes like this.”
Notes & quotes: Longtime defense partners Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock each played in their 600th NHL game, all for the Islanders. “Obviously pretty fluky,” said Pulock, who made his NHL debut on Feb. 28, 2016 while Pelech’s first game was Nov. 13, 2015. “We’ve had different injuries along the way and here we are at 600 games. It’s kind of funny.” Hall of Famer Denis Potvin (1,060) and Stefan Persson (622) are the only defensemen to have played more games for the franchise . . . Defenseman Adam Boqvist and forward Max Tsyplakov remained healthy scratches.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.