New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal has left the team’s road trip because of an upper-body injury.
The team announced Friday that Barzal, 27, had returned to Long Island to see team physicians and that a time frame for his recovery will be announced after that evaluation.
Barzal played 22:46 in the Islanders’ 2-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, registering two shots on goal. He has two goals and five points in 10 games this season, skating to a minus-3.
The loss of Barzal comes as the Islanders have had the NHL’s worst offense through the first month of the season. The Islanders are averaging 2.10 goals per game, ranking 32nd in the league. That’s despite ranking 11th in the NHL in expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. Barzal has yet to tally a point in 5-on-5 play this season.
Barzal is the team’s leader in power-play ice time (3:42) for a unit that ranks 28th in the NHL.
The Islanders (3-5-2) are in Buffalo on Friday night to take on the Sabres before finishing their road trip at Madison Square Garden on Sunday against the New York Rangers.
Bo Horvat, who is Barzal’s linemate in the Islanders’ top scoring unit, skated with captain Anders Lee and forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau in Friday morning’s practice.