It may not be noticeable, since Mathew Barzal still doesn’t have a goal through five Islander games. But his aim is to shoot the puck more this season to prevent something that many fans and his coach noticed at times last season.



Through the Islanders’ 2-3 start, Barzal is leading the team with 25 attempts. His zero goals so far may be more understandable when you see he’s put just 11 of those 25 attempts on goal, having hit a post in the season opener and missed the net on a couple of other good opportunities.



“I’m just trying to shoot in the areas I should be shooting,” Barzal said. “Maybe in past years I’ve passed up a shot, hold on to it, hold on to it and then the puck gets turned over. So I’m trying to get myself out of trouble by getting it towards the net.”



Not that Barzal was ever shy about shooting, relative to his teammates. He was fifth in shots on goal (170) and eighth in attempts (260)...