BOSTON — For Mathew Barzal, it’s all about standing out and fitting in. Standing out on the ice and fitting in to an Islanders team that has a lot of longtime teammates.
He’s got the first part down pretty well. Heading into Saturday night’s game here, Barzal led all NHL rookies with 27 points and was at least in the top 10 among all NHLers in GIF-able moments.
The second part has been easy, too, for a 20-year-old who talks a lot and enjoys the banter and chirping that all rookies must endure.
“Everybody’s on him a little bit every day,” Cal Clutterbuck said.