New York Islanders' Mat Barzal leaves the team due to mysterious injury: timeframe unknown
Mat Barzal is the most important player on the New York Islanders roster, but now the young star has reportedly left the team with a mysterious injury.
The New York Islanders are off to an okay start in 2024/25, but given the lack of explosive young talent on this roster, they have little room for error this season when it comes to injuries. Unfortunately, it appears one has now struck, as superstar forward Mat Barzal is reportedly heading home to Long Island from their road trip as he deals with an upper body injury.
It's unclear exactly what the injury is or when it occurred, but with the team losing four of their last five games, losing Barzal long-term to an injury is the last thing they can afford. On the social media announcement, the Islanders revealed that his official timeline will be announced once a diagnosis is made by the doctors, but missing him for any length of time would be brutal.
This season Barzal has started much slower than we've seen in recent years, with just five points through 10 games, but with the speed and the natural goal scoring ability for an older, slower team, it's still a big loss. Islanders fans are staying positive however, as one fan noted that the team went 14-8-2 without him in the lineup two years ago due to injury, and to stay in the race this season, they'll need a similar run if he is out for a lengthy period of time.
The team have lost three straight games with No. 13 in the lineup, with the offense struggling mightily as they are dead last in the NHL in goals per game at 2.10, so if Barzal is out for a lengthy stint, don't be surprised if General Manager Lou Lamoriello looks to bring in an offensive weapon to get this team going.
