Bieber, Bets and Championships Make Barzal’s All-Star Weekend Worthwhile

Mathew Barzal is now three-for-three when it comes to successful All-Star Weekends.

He won his second three-on-three tournament on Saturday afternoon, racking up six points (1G, 5A) in two games for Team Matthews, taking home his share of the $1M prize. He won the tournament back in 2019 as well and took home the Fastest Skater title in 2020.

Whatever the stakes, Barzal likes to win, so while an All-Star title isn’t a Stanley Cup, it certainly beats not winning the midseason showcase.

“It makes it worthwhile when you come here and you win,” Barzal said. “It's not obviously what I want to win, but when you're here you want to try to give your best effort. I don't like losing at anything. I'm sure none of these guys here do, it’s a pretty competitive group, so it's fun to get the win tonight.”

It’s been a whirlwind weekend for Barzal, who said he welcomes the day off on Sunday after partaking in Thursday’s draft, Friday night’s skills competition and Saturday’s three-on-three game. He’ll stay put in Toronto until the Islanders join him on Monday, soaking in another fun and successful All-Star Weekend.

Between meeting Justin Bieber, taking target practice with Auston Matthews and bringing the Isles-Rangers rivalry to Toronto, there was a lot to cover. Let’s dive in.

BARZAL, MATTHEWS AND BIEBER:

Barzal was selected by Auston Matthews and Justin Bieber in Thursday’s draft, which was an exciting prosect for the Islanders center.

While Barzal and Matthews didn’t see much time together in game action, the duo skated together during Friday’s optional morning skate. After passing the puck back and forth, they took out the targets for the accuracy shooting event and held their own mini skills competition.

"Me and Auston were just messing around and threw 100 bucks on it," Barzal said. "Probably not the best bet for me to go head-to-head with him in a shooting competition. Just messing around this morning. He's a student of the game, I love the game as well.”

For context, Matthews leads the league with 40 goals this season while Barzal’s playmaking is his strong suit.

Matthews was one of the players Barzal was already familiar with prior to this year’s skills All-Star Weekend, but appreciated being drafted to the sharpshooter’s team. It comes with perks, such as getting to meet Justin Bieber, who was the celebrity co-captain and stood on the bench during the game.

“Biebs was vocal back there,” Barzal said. “Telling us to not get comfortable when we're up by two and saying all the right things. He was involved and he was invested in wanting to win and I loved it out of him.”

Bieber also took warmups with his team, which made Barzal laugh. Barzal also stepped into Bieber’s world during the weekend, attending a concert on Thursday night.

“I was a fan of his growing up,” Barzal said. “It was sweet to see him live like that, it was my first time. He seems like a really down to earth guy and I loved seeing him out in warm ups today passing some pucks around. Fun to have him here for sure.”

BARZAL PICKS SHESTERKIN IN BREAKAWAY COMPETITION:

Barzal brought the Islanders-Rangers rivalry to All-Star Weekend, as he selected to go against New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin in the one-on-one breakaway competition during Friday’s All-Star Skills.

Barzal scored four total goals for six total points, burying two pucks worth one point apiece and two worth two.

"I knew people back home would be watching," Barzal said of picking Shesterkin. "He has a relationship with [Ilya] Sorokin, so I thought it'd be fun if I picked him for the New York fan base."

The shootout competition was a fast-and-furious minute that saw Barzal taking breakaway after breakaway on Shesterkin. While that may seem to be extra taxing on a goalie, Barzal said he was feeling the burn of having to race from the front of the net to the blue line to retrieve pucks.

“That challenge with Shesterkin, I was dying,” Barzal told NHL Network. “And then I heard the announcer say ’30 more seconds’ and my legs were burning at that point. It was great, the whole thing was fun.”

Barzal raved about the new skills competition format that saw 12 players compete in a series of events with a million dollar cash prize on the line. Barzal placed second in the fastest skater and stick handling events, while finishing third in the passing challenge and breakaway competition. He was in second place heading into the final, but got tripped up by the saucer passes into mini nets, which he said felt like 20 minutes, despite being just over a minute. Regardless of how the skills ended, Barzal was a fan of the revamped format.

“It was a blast,” Barzal said. “Honestly, I had a really good time.”

BARZAL TRIES TO GO BETWEEN THE LEGS:

On one of the NHL’s biggest stages, Barzal was determined to put on a show.Barzal busted out between-the-legs shots multiple times throughout the weekend, looking to land a highlight reel goal.

The first came in the breakaway challenge against Shesterkin, ringing a shot off the post that would have vaulted Barzal into second place in the breakaway competition.

Barzal tried it again against Team Hughes, ringing a shot off the post behind Cam Talbot. His internal monologue told him “enough” after the second, but undeterred, Barzal went for a third. He couldn’t fool Thatcher Demko, who was likely paying attention to Barzal’s craftiness.

“I was actually mad at myself on the second one like what am I doing?” Barzal said. “Just weird opportunities presenting itself to where it's really the only thing I have, but I'm 0-for-3, so maybe I have to put it away.”

BARZAL AMONG THE STARS:

Barzal seems to genuinely enjoy the company at All-Star Weekend and getting access to the best players in the game.

Ahead of Friday’s optional morning skate, Barzal was inspecting Nathan MacKinnon’s skates, remarking on the size. He’s a self-proclaimed gear guy, and one who’s been known to pick up habits from other players, such as spray painting his sticks.

The Islanders center was yucking it up with his fellow skills competition competitors. The Coquitlam, BC, native was probably talking about his hometown with Vancouver Canucks All-Stars J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson. He said pretty much everyone in the skills competition was new to him outside of Matthews and Connor McDavid. Barzal said conversations range from personal, to game, to team stuff, but it’s a good venue to get to know the game’s elite.

He has some history with Connor Bedard, the 18-year-old phenom, who was on site to pass pucks in the one-timer challenge, despite being sidelined with a broken jaw. Barzal and Bedard skate together over the summers in Vancouver and Bedard was the one dishing him passes, even if Barzal was dishing out some chirps.

"It was cool, I've kind of seen him grow up so it's fun to have him here," Barzal said of Bedard. "I was giving him some heck that he wasn't hitting in my wheelhouse. The first pass I sent back to him. He's a great kid and I'm glad he could make it out today because he's the future the game and it's nice for him to show face tonight."

During Saturday’s game, Barzal skated with Detroit’s Alex DeBrincat and Nashville’s Filip Forsberg. It turned out to be a pretty deadly trio, as they combined for 17 points (7G, 10A) in the two games.

“We had a little chemistry going on out there,” Barzal said. “Both of those guys are good shooters, so just kind of try to get it to them and let them finish. It was fun being around those guys.”

Those friends will soon enough become opponents again when the Isles get underway on Monday night against the Maple Leafs.