New York Islanders: Mathew Barzal Has Rough Start to NHL Debut (Video)
The New York Islanders are playing the Washington Capitals in their second game of the season. It is also the debut of Mathew Barzal.
After sitting in the first game, Mathew Barzal made his NHL debut on Saturday for the New York Islanders. Both Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier are essentially playing a nine-game tryout.
Beauvillier had a bit of a mixed debut for the Islanders against the Rangers, but he did get an assist late in the game. Against the Capitals, the Islanders made the decision to sit Beauvillier and give Barzal the start.
There was certainly a lot of nerves for Barzal to make his NHL debut, and he sure did look nervous to start the game. On his first career shift, Barzal took a slashing penalty against Alex Ovechkin. Sending the talented Capitals’ offense to the power play is usually not a good thing, but the Islanders were able to kill the penalty.
Barzal heads to the box on his first shift #Isles https://t.co/B3e9kHT1tm
— Empire Writes Back (@EmpireWritesBck) October 15, 2016
After killing the penalty, Barzal had his first moment to forget as an NHL player. Just as the penalty expired and Barzal was coming out of the box, the puck came near Barzal. Without getting completely out of the box, Barzal foolishly played the puck and took his second penalty of the game.
Barzal seems to like the penalty box #Isles https://t.co/9X4O2kNJOm
— Empire Writes Back (@EmpireWritesBck) October 15, 2016
The decision to play the puck in the penalty box was a head-scratching move by Barzal. The Islanders have high hopes for Barzal and Beauvillier, and they are fortunate that Barzal’s mental errors didn’t hurt them against the Capitals.
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