The New York Islanders have a tall task ahead of them in their first-round playoff matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, as they’re looking to eliminate a club many view as a Stanley Cup contender. They will get some crucial help, though, as one of the team’s top offensive players, Mathew Barzal, is set to return from injury for Game One. (via The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz) Barzal hasn’t played since a February contest against the Boston Bruins, and was on a hot streak with six points in four games before going down with his injury.
In total, Barzal scored 51 points in 58 games this season. He flashed chemistry with mid-season trade acquisition Bo Horvat, and is a proven playoff performer with 38 points in 49 career contests. As relayed by The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner, Barzal said today that he’d been feeling good for a while, but wanted to make sure he was 100% ready to return before entering the lineup once again.
Some other injury notes from across the league:
- Although the Islanders will get Barzal back in time for the playoffs, the same can’t be said for another one of the team’s young talents. Head coach Lane Lambert told the media today, including Kurz, that defenseman Alexander Romanov will not be available for the first game of their series against Carolina. Romanov has been skating by himself and is inching closer to a return, but remains unavailable. Acquired by the Islanders at the 2022 draft, Romanov last played on April 1st and has scored 22 points this season playing nearly 20 minutes a night.
- Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield updated the media, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, on the state of his injury recovery today. Caufield said that he’s cleared to play golf as of June 1st, and that he’d “definitely” be back to shooting pucks before then. Caufield’s rehab from the shoulder injury that ended his season is an important storyline for Canadiens fans to monitor, seeing as he’s one of the team’s brightest young talents and has an important summer of contract negotiations set to begin.
- As relayed by Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan, Ottawa Senators netminder Anton Forsberg is doing well in his recovery from his season-ending injury and will be back on the ice by July. Forsberg suffered a torn MCL in February, which ended his season. The 30-year-old signed a contract extension to remain a Senator last summer and should be expected to remain in the team’s offseason plans for its crease, assuming his recovery continues to move in the right direction.
- Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports word from Senators center Josh Norris that the 23-year-old’s shoulder is feeling good and that he expects to be back on the ice in the next month. Norris played just eight games this season due to a shoulder injury. It was initially reported that Norris would not need surgery, and the optimism that he could return peaked when he was activated and played three games in January. Norris did ultimately need to undergo shoulder surgery, though, and the operation ended his season. That means that 2022-23 ended up a lost season for Norris, who scored 35 goals and 55 points in 2021-22.