Islanders punish Mat Barzal for being late by scratching him vs. Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Islanders laid down a gauntlet on Thursday morning, making Mat Barzal a healthy scratch against the Hurricanes as punishment for being late to the rink.

“That’s the culture of our team,” coach Patrick Roy said. “And we made the decision not to play him tonight. And Barzy’s not happy, he doesn’t feel good about it. He respects the decision, he understands it. He was really good about it.

“Like I said to him, it happened to me when I was in Colorado. Different way, but [I] missed a practice, missed two games. That’s the culture of our team, we believe in it. But he’s good about it. He’s very good about it.”

Barzal will be back in the lineup on Friday against the Capitals with a clean slate, Roy said. The Islanders have yet to announce an anticipated roster move to add a forward for Thursday’s game, but it’s expected that defenseman Marshall Warren will be sent down. 

Calum Ritchie, the organization’s top forward prospect who returned from injury in Bridgeport on Wednesday night, would appear to be an option for Thursday; Marc Gatcomb and Matthew Highmore would be two others. 

Barzal, who participated in morning skate as usual, was not in the dressing room afterward and reporters were not informed he would be out of the lineup until moments before Roy’s press conference started.

Roy did not answer whether the policy of scratching a player for being late to the rink is new as of this season.

“I can’t go back to how things were in the past, but I know how things are today,” he said. “I think everybody knows now.”

His next answer, though, was telling in that regard.

“No, it’s not my standard,” he said. “It’s the organization’s standard.”