I kept tell myself there's gotta be someone out there who understands what I'm asking for here and I just found this wonderful article entitled "Let's talk about Mat Barzal" which aligns closely with what I've been trying to say. The Isles have to tweak their system at least when Barzal is on the ice to take advantage of what he has to offer which means he's got to get back to scoring on the rush rather than cycling deep in the offensive zone looking to feed point men or waiting for players to get themselves open. He also noticed the difference in Barzal's play from his 2017-2018 rookie year to the way he plays now.
As the author notes, "
You see him exchange with a defenseman instead of attacking the net, waiting for a play to develop instead of going off instinct and looking for the safer option."
Critically he writes, "
Barzal is an oustanding player but he doesn’t have a complete profile. He is one of the best in the league at creating in transition. A low percentage of his entries led to scoring chances but from a volume standpoint, he was among the best. You’re not going to hit a home run on every shift, so Barzal having a lot of kicks at the can is a good thing, especially with this type of workload. Controlled entries lead to more scoring chances & more goals, which means you want the puck on Barzal’s stick more times than not."
In regards to zone entry Barzal has ALWAYS been one of the best that's why in his rookie year when he was allowed to play this way we noticed him on every shift. As the author writes, "
for context, most players will enter the zone with control of the puck about 2-3 times a game. An average game for Barzal is about 5-6 and it’s pretty common for him to hit double digits in this stat. You might say “so what,” but it means that he’s the one commanding the play and the puck is on his stick for most of the game. Again, there aren’t a lot of guys in the NHL who can do this, even the star players. The tide has started to shift with the league’s skill level on the rise but Barzal still finds himself on an island amongst his peers."
Again it's all about taking controlled risks to create chances to score goals and the Isles drop to being one of the lowest scoring clubs in the game had a lot do with as I have been saying the system Trotz put into place. Barzals not going to score on every shift but when he was allowed to play his game no one
volume wise created as many scoring chances as Barzal other than McDavid and there's objective data to support this.
Trotz did not like taking chances and the system does not encourage defensemen from joining into the rush. Like me, the author believes Dobson should be joining the rush when Barzal is on the ice. This involves risk however and as the author states, "
This is a tough conundrum for coaches because in order to create some of these chances you have to survive a defensive breakdown. The Islanders play a more controlled game under Trotz and opportunities like this don’t happen as often, which is a trade-off most players will take...the team has improved and Barzal has settled in as the Isles top-line center while not reaching the heights some hoped he would get to after his rookie season. Last year, however, felt like a turning point. The team around him got weaker but instead of the games opening up, they played the same conservative way with worse results."
On Dobson he writes, "
The way Dobson reads the game and always thinks offense caters to Barzal’s skillset perfectly. He’s what friend of the blog, Jack Han, would call a “sprinter” or the second guy in the rush, giving Barzal a passing option or someone to help back off the defenders even if they’re setup. It’s frustrating for the Isles because if they had another forward who played with this mindset, they would have a good running mate for Barzal." [At the time this article was written they didn't have Bo Horvat. Now they have Bo Horvat and he's a pretty good skater there's no reason they can't be scoring on rush with him as a line-mate and also a pretty accurate shooter]
Like me this author
trusts in skills he writes,
"I’m a firm believer in skill eventually winning out when it comes to players like Barzal. Nathan MacKinnon had a couple of years where he was stuck in that “great but not elite” tier while posting fantastic microstats. Eventually that translated to the big picture. The same goes for other stars like Gaudreau, Eichel and Barkov."
If you don't understand what I'm saying when I say we lost something in Barzal after the 2017-2018 season read this article
Let's talk about Mat Barzal. The Isles need to let Barzal be Barzal and lead the Islanders offense once again with his offensive rushes. Unleash the kid!
