Islanders’ Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat line pairing could unlock something…
Having Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat on two different traces definitely wasn’t the Islanders’ largest downside by means of 10 games.
If something, shifting Barzal again to middle was working fairly nicely, and Horvat’s line with Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman was the Islanders’ best.
And still, there may be something different — something further — that will get unlocked when the Islanders’ best two forwards are playing alongside each other. And if Cal Ritchie, the top prospect who made his Islanders debut in Friday’s win over the Capitals, is at his best playing middle, then there may be abruptly a gap to rejoin the two stars.
Bo Horvat (14) celebrates his objective with middle Mathew Barzal (13) during the third interval of the Islanders’ win over the Capitals on Oct. 31, 2025. AP
That was just what coach Patrick Roy did in the third interval against the Capitals, switching his traces to play Barzal and Horvat alongside Heineman, with Ritchie centering Drouin and Kyle Palmieri — and it produced the Islanders’ best 20 minutes of the evening, as they broke a 1-1 impasse to win 3-1.
“It was nice to put [Barzal] back with Bo and having Heineman with them,” Roy said. “I thought Ritchie played really well with Drouin and Palmsy in the third.”
Roy said he was not sure whether or not the Islanders would maintain the configuration intact for Sunday’s house game against the Blue Jackets, however it will make sense to take action.
Throughout training camp, Barzal made clear to anybody and everybody who requested how a lot he needs to play with Horvat.
On Friday evening, Ritchie told The Post he was “more comfortable at center,” though he’s more than keen to play on the wing if that’s what the Islanders ask of him.
Will Cuylle (left) checks Calum Ritchie during the third interval of a preseason game at UBS Arena on Sept.29, 2025. Getty Images
Whether it’s possible to maintain issues the manner they had been in that third interval Friday relies upon totally on whether or not Ritchie can deal with the NHL, and the matchups that include being a de facto second-line middle. That stays to be seen, and Ritchie’s first game with the Islanders provided a blended bag.
“I think at the start, it was tough to get my legs under me and then as the game adjusted, got my legs,” Ritchie said. “I thought I played pretty good in the third, there. I thought I was playing good defensively, didn’t give as much. That was good.”
If Ritchie can deal with the workload, though, it will go a good distance for the Islanders.
Matthew Schaefer was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October after recording eight factors in his first 11 games.
Schaefer leads all rookies in common time on ice, and leads rookie defensemen in objectives and power-play factors.
He was the fourth 18-year-old defenseman since 1984-85 to report three objectives in a calendar month.
The Islanders didn’t observe Saturday following a back-to-back in Carolina and Washington.
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