Recap: Barzal's Hat Trick Leads Isles 4-0 Shutout Over Leafs

Despite all the attention on the Islanders facing John Tavares for the first time, Mathew Barzal turned out to be the star of the show on Saturday night in Toronto.
Barzal scored a natural hat trick in the second period, powering the Islanders to a 4-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Barzal's big night led the way, while Robin Lehner made 36 saves for his second shutout of the season and fourth straight win. With the win, the Isles extend their winning streak to three straight games and have now won six of their last seven games.
"You could tell before the game that the guys were dialed in," Barzal said. "They were ready to go. We knew what was at stake against one of the top teams in the league. If we play like that, this team can be pretty special."

BARZAL RECORDS NATURAL HAT TRICK:

Call him the kid who scored a natty.
Barzal took over Saturday night's Islanders-Maple Leafs game, scoring a natural hat trick in a 7:44 span in the second period.
Barzal's trick was the second of his career, with the last coming on Dec. 23, 2017 against the Winnipeg Jets. The three quick strikes turned a 1-0 Islanders advantage into a 4-0 escalation, offering the Isles plenty of breathing room against the high-octane Leafs.
"It was a team effort tonight," Barzal said. "I was fortunate to get a couple of bounces… Just a great win overall."
The goals came in all fashions. Barzal deflected a Johnny Boychuk shot through Garret Sparks' (24 saves) legs at 2:49 and had a slap shot carom off Nikita Zaitsev for a power-play goal at 4:56. Barzal completed the trick in fitting fashion, looking pass all the way on a two-on-one with Anthony Beauvillier before beating Sparks five-hole at 10:33.
"It's rare you see him shoot the puck on a two-on-one," joked Beauvillier, who was on the receiving end of an impossible pass from Barzal two weeks ago vs Detroit. "It's a deceptive play, the goalie kind of froze there. Not a lot of players can do that move with that deception."
With the trick, Barzal has five goals on the Isles back-to-back set and extends his point streak to four games (6G, 2A). The key to his recent burst of goals is pretty simple, at least according to Lehner.
"He's shooting the puck," the Isles goalie said. "He's one of the most skilled players in the league and one of the fastest. Just seeing him shooting more in practice, he's starting to trust his shot and have confidence in his shot. He has a good shot. He just has to keep shooting and he'll score a lot of goals."

ISLES MEASURE UP VS LEAFS:

The Islanders were using the Maple Leafs as a measuring stick on Saturday.
And while the Leafs were playing without starting goalie Frederik Andersen, who missed the game with a groin injury, a clean sheet for Lehner was further evidence of the Isles taking to Barry Trotz's system.
"I liked the fact that we stayed with the game plan for the full 60 minutes," Trotz said. "We didn't really deviate and that to me was real good growth. We have to continue to do that. We knew we were up against a real good hockey team and we had to do things the right way and we did… The game never felt like it was ever in doubt."
The Leafs entered the game as the second-highest scoring team in the NHL, averaging 3.79 goals-per-game, and had won five straight games. On Saturday, the Leafs were shut out for the second time this season and the Isles picked up their first win in Toronto since Dec. 2015.
"We've played some pretty good teams lately, but this is obviously a very, very good team and I thought it would be a good test for our defense today," Lehner said. "That's what we were focusing on, going in and playing our game and see how we stack up."
Trotz called the Islanders first two periods "outstanding" adding that his team frustrated the Maple Leafs. When the inevitable push came in the third period - the Leafs outshot the Isles 18-8 in the final frame - the Isles clamped down, blocking 10 of their 19 blocked shots in the third period.
"You could tell before the game that the guys were dialed in," Barzal said. "They were ready to go. We knew what was at stake against one of the top teams in the league. If we play like that, this team can be pretty special. You see at the end there, guys blocking shots, everybody from the top to bottom. Guys are just battling to win, everyone just wants to win here right now."

DAL COLLE WITH FIRST-CAREER POINT:

Michael Dal Colle was a late addition to the Islanders road trip on Saturday, catching an early-morning flight after the team placed Jordan Eberle on IR.
Dal Colle recorded his first NHL point about eight hours later, picking up the primary assist on Valtteri Filppula's icebreaker in the first period. As an added bonus, the Richmond Hill, ON, native - a suburb of Toronto - picked up his first point in his first game in his hometown.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders wrap up 2018 in Buffalo with a New Year's Eve date against the Sabres.