Lambert was hired as coach May 16, a week after Barry Trotz was fired following his fourth season with New York.
"Barry was great. Not a bad word to say," Barzal said Thursday. "But I think with coaching changes, sometimes you just need a new voice, sometimes you just need a fresh face."
Barzal, speaking at the NHL North American Player Media Tour at Lifeguard Arena, said the fact that Lambert has been an Islanders assistant the past four seasons is a big help in the transition.
"I think we all have good relationships with him because he was our associate] coach the last couple years and he has the respect of the room, and that's a big thing when a new coach comes in," Barzal, a center, said. "So, I think he's going to do a great job. I'm looking forward to it, and yeah, I think it's going to be nice."
The Islanders were 37-35-10 last season, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs after reaching the semifinal round in each of the previous two seasons. Barzal said their struggles were mainly due to man-games lost to COVID-19, not the impact of a 13-game season-opening road stretch before moving into UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. The killer, he said, was an 0-8-3 stretch from Nov. 7-Dec. 5.
Forward Josh Bailey tested positive Nov. 16, and six more players -- forwards Anders Lee, Casey Cizikas and Ross Johnston, and defensemen Adam Pelech,
[Zdeno Chara
and
Andy Greene
-- were in NHL COVID-19 protocol by Nov. 27.
"[The road stretch] wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible," Barzal said. "It was COVID that was brutal for us. In the NHL, you can't have eight of your starters out and expect to be a contending team, you know what I mean? So, it was hard for 11 games. I was in every one of them. It was brutal. We were getting shut out every other game. It was tough."
Barzal finished tied with center Brock Nelson for the Islanders lead in points last season with 59, including 15 goals, which was fourth on the team and his NHL career low.
The 25-year-old said he does not feel outside pressure to perform better this season, rather, puts it on himself to lift his game, and in turn, his team.
"I feel like I always put that pressure on myself regardless," Barzal said. "I feel like in order for us to be good, I have to be I have to be among the top players in the League. I feel like I just didn't do it consistently enough last year. I felt like there were just certain things that just didn't go right and just didn't feel great about it.
"At the end of the day, it's a team game, and I just know that when I'm playing well, I know we have a better chance."
Barzal can become a restricted free agent at the end of this season. He would not say if contract negotiations have begun but made it clear he wants to stay with New York.
"I love Long Island, so it's somewhere I'd want to stay," Barzal said. "I would like to be there. It obviously is a business, but at the end of the day, I love Long Island. So, if we can make it fair and both sides are happy, then I'd sign it tomorrow."
But now, he said, the focus is on getting the Islanders back to the postseason.
"I think for us, it's about just getting into the playoffs," Barzal said. "Like that's going to be key for us because we feel like we have a playoff team. We have a good structure. We have gamebreakers and you know, it's just about getting into the playoffs."
