Barzal scores three points in return, helps Islanders defeat Sabres

Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists in his return for the New York Islanders, a 4-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Thursday.

Barzal was playing his first game since Dec. 11 (missed three games) because of COVID-19 protocol.
"I think he's obviously a big part of our game," said Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, who had a goal and an assist. "To see him back, he was flying around tonight. … I think it's nice when guys are out for a little bit and we get them back. They definitely bring an energy to the team, and I think you saw that tonight."
Kieffer Bellows had a goal and an assist, and Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves for the Islanders (9-12-6), who had not played since Dec. 19.
Kyle Okposo scored, and Malcolm Subban made 28 saves for the Sabres (10-17-5), who were coming off a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
"To start the game, we were just making little mistakes that we don't usually make," Okposo said. "Our puck management, I turned one over in the middle of the ice. … So I'll take responsibility for that start to the game, and I just think we didn't manage it well enough through the neutral zone, especially, and entering their zone. Their gaps were really good. They have great sticks. They got a lot of sticks on pucks and we didn't make clean plays. When you're not doing that, you just got to get it behind them and play simple. We just didn't do that tonight. … Call it whatever you want … we didn't mentally make the correct decisions at all tonight."

Barzal gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 12:35 of the first period. He took a pass from Josh Bailey, skated into the left face-off circle, and shot top shelf glove side on Subban.
"We've been talking to Mat about shooting the puck," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "He can really shoot the puck. It's really something that he's worked on from year one. … He's shooting it more and that's what we want. He can shoot it hard. That first goal is an indication. He put it right where he needed to put it."
Okposo tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 19:00. Brett Murray's rebound attempt at the top of the crease hit the left pad of Varlamov and kicked out to Okposo, who shot into an open net near the right post.
Bellows gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 6:45 of the second period. He collected the puck in New York's zone, skated around Buffalo forward Alex Tuch in the neutral zone, and shot blocker side between two defensemen from the slot.
"I think Kieffer has been on a slow and steady burn where's taken on the challenges that we've given him," Trotz said. "I've pulled him out of the lineup sometimes … but he's making a case for himself. I said to him, as he gets to be a more veteran player, a guy that's played more games, he's got to just play well. Any time that you're in there, bank some good [credentials], and when you do, can't take you out of the lineup. He's doing that."
Anders Lee extended the lead to 3-1 when he backhanded a loose puck from the low slot on a power play at 11:25 of the second.

Dobson scored on a slap shot from the blue line at 11:43 of the third period for the 4-1 final.
"These are great lessons for us to learn," said Sabres assistant Matt Ellis, who served as coach with Don Granato in COVID-19 protocol. "In this league, there's not time to sit and hope for things. You take each step as a learning experience and obviously, we'll look at the film. We'll have discussions. We'll recalibrate tomorrow in Boston once we go through the video and again, for us, we've had the mentality since Day One that it's about getting better every day. There are some lessons from tonight's game that we need to learn from and take with us. Look at how a mature team approaches a game like tonight."
NOTES: The Sabres are 0-3-4 in the second half of a back to back. … The Islanders have won 10 straight home games against the Sabres dating to April 9, 2016. … Barzal extended his personal point streak to seven games (two goals, 10 assists). … Lee has four points (two goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak.