Recap: Barzal Leads Isles To 4-3 Win Over Red Wings

The New York Islanders beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday, their second victory over the Red Wings in a week.
Mathew Barzal (1G, 1A) capped a tremendous performance with the game-deciding goal in the shootout, while Casey Cizikas and Anthony Beauvillier also scored for the Islanders. Gustav Nyquist, Trevor Daley and Thomas Vanek scored for the Red Wings. Thomas Greiss made 18 saves in the win, while Jonathan Bernier made 45 saves in the loss.

Video: DET@NYI: Barzal dekes, tucks home shootout goal

BARZAL SOARS IN WIN OVER WINGS:

Barry Trotz used the word "game-changer" when talking about Mathew Barzal on Saturday night and that's exactly what Barzal was.
Barzal finished the night with a power-play goal, a nifty setup and the shootout winner and was buzzing up and down the ice at NYCB Live.
"He can be a game-changer and that's what we've talked about in our first meeting," Trotz said. "If he buys in to what we're trying to do, then he's a game-changer in this league, one of those guys. Tonight he was quite noticeable."
Barzal finished the night with seven shots, which didn't include a shot off the crossbar in the second period, and led Isles forwards with 23:53 TOI. That satisfied the Isles need to get Barzal to shoot more often, but the 21-year-old put his passing prowess on display, threading a feed underneath Daley's stick to Anthony Beauvillier during a two-on-one.
Barzal said he felt he should have sauced the pass in that situation, but Beauvillier, who scored for the third straight game, had a different take.
"He's one of those players that can make that pass," Beauvillier said.

Down 2-1 in the third period, Barzal got the Islanders into a tie game with a power-play goal. Nick Leddy's shot hit traffic in front, but after a couple of whacks, the puck squirted out to Barzal, who cashed in his fourth of the season.
In the shootout, Barzal's hands were on display, forcing Jonathan Bernier to bite on a fake before sliding the game-deciding goal home. The shootout winner won't go on his stat sheet, but Barzal had already extended his point streak to four games (1G, 5A) by that point.
"I'm trying to work harder in all zones," Barzal said. "First goal Bails made a great play to get me the puck, Beau has been hot lately so I've been trying to get him the puck in those spots and it was a joint effort with our line. It's just easy playing with those guys right now."

ISLES CARRY PLAY VS WINGS:

The New York Islanders dominated the Red Wings everywhere except for the scoreboard for the majority of Saturday night's contest.
The Islanders out-shot the Red Wings 48-21 and out-attempted Detroit 71-37, controlling large swaths of the game. The lopsided shot totals were impacted by the Islanders six power plays, but the six opportunities were reflective of the puck possession on Saturday.
It didn't come easy though, as an early power-play goal put Detroit up 1-0 before the sold-out crowd "could sit down and have that first beer" (Trotz's words). Beauvillier got one back for the Islanders, but Daley put the Red Wings ahead 2-1 with 12 seconds to play in the first period.

That's how the score stayed until the power play broke through in the third period, but Detroit didn't generate a shot for the opening 10 minutes of the final frame. Cizikas then put the Isles ahead 3-2, but it wasn't enough, as Vanek tied the score with 1:03 to play.
Still, the Isles were unfazed, with Barzal saying the team's confidence never wavered.
"Even going into the third we knew we were going to get the game, that's just the confidence we have in here," Barzal said. "We competed hard and everyone worked hard tonight, it was a rewarding win."

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HO-SANG DEBUTS:

Josh Ho-Sang made his season debut on Saturday night. The 22-year-old played alongside Valtteri Filppula and Leo Komarov on the third line, replacing Ross Johnston.
Ho-Sang also saw time on the second power-play unit and was the Isles extra attacker on a delayed penalty call in the first period. He nearly notched an assist, but Komarov missed Ho-Sang's backdoor feed.
Trotz said he was pleased with the 22-year-old's performance.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head out on a four-game western conference road trip, starting on Monday night when they take on the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop is at 9 p.m. eastern.