Islanders’ Mathew Barzal explains his retaliatory two-handed slash
CHICAGO — It’s not usually Mathew Barzal’s role to police things.
Going after Blue Jackets winger Mason Marchment with a two-handed slash after his trip of Matthew Schaefer on Sunday, though, was a “split-second decision” — and one Barzal doesn’t regret one bit.
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“Schaef’s our guy. He’s 18 years old,” Barzal said before the Islanders faced the Blackhawks on Tuesday. “Guy wants to run around and go after an 18-year-old, that’s just not gonna fly in this dressing room. We made that clear as a group.

“He’s gonna be one of the best players in the league at some point. We want to show him that he’s our guy. We’re gonna take care of him. I think the reaction from the group, it was nice to hear [coach] Patrick [Roy’s] comments after the game. We talked, talked to the boys. Like Patrick said, I think anytime a guy sticks up for a player, especially a younger guy like that, it goes a long way in this room. It was my turn, I guess.”
Barzal was fined $5,000 but avoided a suspension over the play. He said that he knew missing Tuesday’s game was a possibility but noted that Marchment wasn’t hurt and played the rest of the game.
“Didn’t go after a knee or wrist or anything. At the end of the day we’re a team,” Barzal said. “We want to be Team Tough. I was the first guy there.”
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