Mat Barzal Leaves Game 5 Early

Mat Barzal left Tuesday’s Game 5 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers before the final buzzer.

The 23-year-old Islanders star took a stick to the face late in the third period. Claude Giroux was following through on a pass when the blade of his stick got under Barzal’s visor and caught him up high.

Mat Barzal went down to the ice at 15:13 of the third and an Islanders trainer came out to put a towel on his face to stop the bleeding. He skated off the ice under his own power.

#Isles Mathew Barzal hit with a high-stick here from the #AnytimeAnywhere Claude Giroux follow-through.
He's cut. Straight to the dressing room. pic.twitter.com/Eo3pqmT6jo

— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) September 2, 2020

Islanders head coach Barry Trotz wasn’t able to provide any details on his status after the game.

“I don’t have an update,” Trotz said. “We’ll see where that is tomorrow. Hopefully, I can you a better idea and I’ll have a better idea.”

The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta did report after the game that Mat Barzal was doing well and there were no issues with his eye.

Before he left, Barzal picked up his 11th point of the postseason with the Islanders first goal of the game. Barzal has Four goals and eight assists through 14 playoff games this year.

Trotz was pleased with the way the team responded without Barzal in the lineup. The Islanders scored twice in the final minutes of the game to force overtime.

“I thought we responded pretty well with him out. Obviously we worked our way back into that game,” Trotz said.