Matthew Barzal, last years Calder Trophy winner and teams 1st line center, hasn’t quite taken the next step the Islanders have hoped he would have. After having 38 points through his first 40 games of the season, Barzal seemed to have “Hit the Wall” when the going got tough. In his last 34 games, he has had only 20 points and recently only saw 14 minutes of ice time (Season Low) in this latest loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
While having 58 points on a team that is headed to the playoffs one can’t help but wonder whether heading into the playoffs with a young center that has seemed to have hit his limit for the season is a good idea.