Fantasy Hockey Feature: Managing Mathew Barzal's expectations

There were two defining traits to Mathew Barzal’s 85-point rookie season with the New York Islanders. The first was great offensive chemistry with Jordan Eberle. That duo pushed the pace at 5-on-5 as their on-ice shot rates were very high whether with Anthony Beauvillier (41.2 per 60 minutes) or Andrew Ladd (35.0/60) on the left side. It remains the only season where Barzal was on the ice for at least 35 shots/60 at 5-on-5. Combine that with a solid team shooting percentage of 9.6% and it was a very good offensive season. 

The second trait was the power play. Barzal managed 27 power play points that season, which is still his career-high and remains the only season where he’s managed over 20. (In fairness, he would have surpassed 20 PPPs in 2022-23 had he stayed healthy, but his point total