New York Islanders: Predicting how far Mathew Barzal’s point streak will go

The New York Islanders are rolling through the NHL right now winning all over North America and the biggest reason for that is the run Mathew Barzal has been on.

The New York Islanders head into a Saturday night matchup vs the St. Louis Blues riding a five-game winning streak and their new All-Star, Mathew Barzal riding a six-game point streak.

It is not a coincidence that the two have gone hand in hand. When Barzal produces at the elite level the Islanders need him to produce at, the Islanders typically win the hockey game.

However, the Islanders are still playing great in all facets of the game. Their reigning Calder winner is finally becoming an elite goal scorer as well but is likely to cool off at any point.

I know what you might be thinking, me trying to predict when his point streak will end is bad luck. It is a bad omen and jinx.

But, what I will say is this, I also predicted that the Islanders would be terrible.

If you had asked me at the beginning of the NHL year where I had the Islanders by mid-January, the last thing I would have said was the fast lane to the playoffs.

So, if Barzal’s point streak does happen to end before this goes live, it would just be a coincidence and not my fault.

I also do not see it lasting much longer because it is engulfed in my mind as an Islanders fan that we cannot have nice things, but the tides might finally be changing under Barry Trotz and Lou.

So, that too, makes me feel like this run by Barzal could be special on top of what it already is.

Up next for the Isles and Barzal is the St. Louis Blues in the gateway to the West. Last season, Barzal was blanked in the point column vs the Blues both times.

This year, the Islanders have not played the Blues, yet. However, there is still hope.

For starters, this is a whole new season. Two years in hockey rarely repeat each other. What happens in one rarely happens in the next.

So, the Blues are not that special this year and the Islanders might be. Also, Barzal was blanked two of three games vs the Sabres last year before notching a point vs them already this year.

So, if Barzal can claw for a point vs the Blues that extends it to seven games. It might not matter how the Islanders do otherwise.

Then, the Islanders play the Hurricanes, who Barzal has two points against this season already.

After the Hurricanes, things get interesting. The Islanders will play the free-falling Rangers twice in two games.

We have seen Barzal once get five points in a game vs the Rangers and we have seen him struggle.

He got a point in four games vs the Rangers last year but has just one in the teams’ two meetings this season.

Moral of the story, there is really no way of knowing how things will keep going with Barzal.

It is hard to find a direct correlation and a consistent pattern because the turnover of the seasons is so drastic.

What we do know, is that whether it be under Doug Weight or Barry Trotz, whether it be with Jordan Eberle or with Anthony Beauvillier, Barzal will find ways to score points.

Now, he has Joshua Ho-Sang on other lines helping him out. Barzal has had a heart of this streak be during the time Ho-Sang has been up.

So, maybe Josh Ho-Sang being on the Islanders is the key for Barzal too. That is based on the more the talent, the better off they are merit.

Realistically, I can see his point streak going 10 games, maybe even reach 12 and into when they start really playing at NYCB Live. The Islanders are just rolling that much right now.

Or, perhaps this article “jinxed” it and his streak get thwarted mere hours after this post goes live and he goes games without scoring.

But, no matter what, the Islanders are a better team when Barzal is firing on all cylinders. He is finally out of the shell of Johnny T and this is becoming his team.

The Islanders have won six out of the last seven when Barzal notches a point. The Islanders have even gotten away with wins in the last two games which he didn’t.

So, yes, the Islanders’ and Barzal’s streak could end at any given time, it is hockey, that is life.

However, nothing is better than knowing that when it does, and no matter how the Islanders are a great team and Mathew Barzal is an elite player.

Those two things are becoming truer as the sample size gets bigger. But, don’t get me wrong, the streaking is still fun.