Islanders’ punishment of Mat Barzal backfires spectacularly

It’s the kind of story you couldn’t make up.

The New York Islanders and head coach Patrick Roy decided to discipline star forward Mathew Barzal on Thursday after he arrived late to the team bus heading to morning practice. Roy kept him out of the lineup that night against the Carolina Hurricanes, a move meant to send a message about accountability and professionalism.

But it didn’t go as planned.

Barzal’s replacement, Calum Ritchie, was recalled from AHL Bridgeport to fill in, only he never made it to Raleigh in time for the game. His flight was canceled due to severe weather affecting much of the U.S. East Coast on Thursday.

The Islanders suddenly found themselves without Barzal and without his stand-in.

It resulted in a 6–2 blowout loss to the Hurricanes that left fans and media questioning whether the decision to bench Barzal might have cost the Isles two valuable points in the standings.

As the New York Post noted, the timing couldn’t have been worse. With the playoff race tightening and every game mattering, the team’s attempt to enforce discipline ended up creating even more problems on the ice.

Fortunately for the Islanders, Barzal is expected to return to the lineup tonight as the Islanders face the Washington Capitals in D.C. And maybe, after this misstep, Roy will rethink his approach to punishing players…perhaps a hundred pushups would have worked better in the Islanders’ favor.