Mathew Barzal Really Hates Lane Lambert
Mathew Barzal and the New York Islanders are entering the 2024 All-Star break in search of a second-half push. One of the reasons for that is the hole they dug themselves in the opening months of the season. Lou Lamoriello axed former coach Lane Lambert for Patrick Roy just over a week ago, and despite a 1-2-1 record in Roy’s tenure so far, Barzal is a big fan of the change.
Since the switch behind the bench, he has aired out some serious dirty laundry about his former coach. Many fans were losing faith in Lambert, so hearing the team’s best player hold a similar sentiment is nothing short of a relief. Most recently, Barzal accredited the standings and dropped points to why former Isles veteran Zach Parise signed with the Avs instead of returning. Just look at this quote:
“I’m sure if we had won eight of the games that we probably could have this year and were 15, 16 points – 10 points even – ahead of where we’re at today,” Barzal said, according to Andrew Gross of Newsday. “I’m sure he’d be in blue and orange.”
Mathew Barzal via Andrew Gross, Newsday
If that isn’t enough, look at this headline from this past week … this was THREE days after Roy started on the job. He is literally kicking Lambert out of the door with this one:
"Just being blunt, a lot of laziness has crept in over the last little while, so he's not here for that, which is perfect for us."@TheHockeyNews EXCLUSIVE: #Isles Mathew Barzal Enthused By Patrick Roy’s Recipe For Success:https://t.co/pQU5Pjl5m1
— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) January 23, 2024
The issue is clearly the result of something brewing for some time. After acquiring Bo Horvat last January, the pair barely had time to play together before Barzy picked up a regular-season-ending lower-body injury. He returned at the start of the playoffs, but the lack of chemistry was the key reason why the Isles fell in six games to the Hurricanes.
As someone who watched Game Six from the lower bowl, it was painful. The crowd got into it early after a goal but just lost life as the game went on. After getting eliminated, look at his quote about the style of play last year:
#Isles Mat Barzal: "Sometimes when you're just trying to hold on, it doesn't work well. I think the first two periods we were playing aggressive and the third period we just kind of sat back and clog it up and make it hard. Sometimes when you do that, it can go the other way."
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) April 29, 2023
All Talk?
If this was 2022, I would have called Barzal a diva who doesn’t produce enough to say these things. However, he has changed my tune this season. Even under Lambert, the 26-year-old has emerged as a point-per-game player for the first time since his rookie season. He has 51 points in 48 games for 2023-2024 and five points in four games under Roy. His skating abilities have finally translated into being dominant in both 5v5 and the powerplay. Despite losing to the Canadiens 4-3, he was killing them on Thursday:
Mat Barzal last night:
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) January 26, 2024
— 1 goal
— 1 primary assist
— 9 shots on goal
— on-ice for 63 shot attempts for (11 against)
— on-ice for 36 shots for (7 against)
— on-ice for 5.93 xGF (0.23 xGA)
Barzal has been an absolute force. pic.twitter.com/OJ2eIES9Ki
He deserved criticism for his play in the past. Initially, I was hesitant that the front office sided with him over Barry Trotz following the 2021-2022 season. However, he is on a 90-point pace currently and is third in the league in takeaways. If this team has a shot at making the playoffs this year, it will be because of him.
At the time of writing, the Isles are four points out of third place in the Metro and five points out of the second Wild Card spot in the East. There is a lot that’s gone wrong this year, but fourth in the division ahead of teams like the Devils and Penguins means you’re in the mix. There are a lot of similarities to last season, if you take a look back.
Mathew Barzal is free from the shackles of Lane Lambert. He loves Patrick Roy and is throwing tons of shade at his former coach.
