WASHINGTON — Mat Barzal explained his tardiness that led to a healthy scratch Thursday night as an “alarm clock issue” on Friday before returning to the Islanders’ lineup against the Capitals.
“There’s a set bus time in the morning, and I wasn’t on it,” Barzal said prior to a 3-1 victory in which he had an empty-net goal. “I was there for the meetings and everything but Mathieu [Darche] at the start of camp made clear that punctuality was a big thing. He wants to set a culture here, as do all the players here. So, unfortunately, I was the first guy to have an alarm clock issue.”
According to Barzal, this was the first time he had overslept.
The Islanders making an example of the star center was similar to the Lightning — for whom Darche worked previously as an assistant GM — doing the same last season when Brayden Point missed a team meeting.
Without Barzal, the Islanders lost to the Hurricanes 6-2, and were forced to play a makeshift lineup with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. They did not have an extra forward on the road and despite attempting to call up top prospect Cal Ritchie, his flight out of New York was canceled due to weather.
Ritchie was called up Friday and in the lineup against the Capitals.
“There was a ton of dialogue,” Barzal said. “No hard feelings from both sides, it is what it is. Like I said, unfortunately, I was the culprit of an alarm clock issue.