Mathew Barzal injury update: Patrick Roy speaks out on Islanders star's chances of making it back by season end

New York Islanders coach Patrick Roy has been without the services of Mathew Barzal since Saturday. The center suffered a lower-body injury in the closing moments of a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He crashed into the boards and was ruled out indefinitely.

When asked by a reporter on Monday whether Barzal will return before the end of the season, Roy said:

"That I could not tell," highlighting that they might be without Barzal for their final push.

The Islanders are four points behind the first wild card Detroit Red Wings. The Columbus Blue Jackets have the same points and are the second wild card. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins stand in between New York and those two teams.

The New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens are also not far behind, so it's a congested race. It's also a race that the Islanders will now have to navigate without Barzal. Roy did not mention whether or not Barzal would be back if they make the playoffs, but that is also currently in jeopardy.

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Patrick Roy calls Mathew Barzal's injury 'bad luck'

The Islanders just lost a player who had 20 points in 30 games this year. The center missed a 21-game stint earlier this year with an upper-body injury, and now Mathew Barzal's season may be over.

Mathew Barzal is in danger of missing the rest of the year (Imagn)

Head coach Patrick Roy said via AMNY at the time of the injury:

“That’s hockey isn’t it? Barzy knows what he has to do and he was in that shooting lane. That’s what you need to do as a hockey player. Sometimes you have bad luck.”

It's not the only significant injury the Islanders have dealt with this year. Anthony Duclair, this off-season's big signing, missed a huge chunk of time as well. Backup goalie Semyon Varlamov is also injured.

The defense has been totally decimated with injuries to Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock and Mike Reilly. The team has had to sign Anthony DeAngelo, Scott Perunovich and Adam Boqvist all just in the last week to provide some healthy bodies on the back end of the ice.