Mat Barzal Could Miss Opening Night With Knee Injury, Islanders GM Says

New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal could miss the start of the season due to a left kneecap injury, general manager Mathieu Darche announced Thursday. Barzal, who opened training camp off the ice, is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks.

Darche confirmed the injury is related to a knee issue Barzal sustained two seasons ago. The centerman played through the ailment for the majority of last season, but it flared up approximately two weeks ago. Barzal's knee also troubled him in the spring, leading him to withdraw from the World Championships.

"We’re playing the long game here," Darche said. "We’ll have to manage it all the time. He did have an injury in his knee and that’s fine. There’s a lot of players that manage stuff every day throughout their career. That’s just something we’re gonna manage."

Barzal underwent treatments over the summer, but the injury re-emerged recently. The team's timeline of two weeks for his recovery extends into their scheduled Sept. 30 opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, although Darche noted the two-week estimate is approximate.

The Islanders reported being otherwise healthy at the start of training camp. Defensemen Semyon Varlamov, Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri, and Alexander Romanov, who spent significant time rehabilitating last season, were all on the ice with the first group.