Mathew Barzal comes up big again in Islanders’ surprise ‘W’

Here’s the quick glimpse into the mentality of Mathew Barzal:

After the Islanders’ sensational rookie scored his 20th goal of the season in a surprising 4-1 win over the Penguins at Barclays Center on Tuesday night, the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy was asked where his confidence level is as opposed to the start of the season.

“I’d say it’s the same,” Barzal said with a straight face.

When that was relayed to coach Doug Weight, it got a chuckle. But it’s clear that the 20-year-old taken by the Islanders with the 16th-overall selection in the 2015 draft is not short on self-belief nor does he think there’s a ceiling on what he can achieve.

His 75 points (through 73 games) is already third most in Islanders’ rookie history behind only Bryan Trottier (93) and Mike Bossy (91). His 55 assists ties him with Nicklas Backstrom for the second most as a rookie since 1995, behind only’s Sidney Crosby’s 63.

“He’s confident, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being confident,” Weight said, after his team went to 31-32-10 as they play out the string and are set to miss the postseason for the second straight year. “The greatness, if he wants to achieve as good as he thinks he can be, he’s going to have to have that confidence.”

Barzal’s main competition for the Calder is the Canucks’ Brock Boeser, who has 55 points, and maybe Yanni Gourde of the Lightning (54 points) or Clayton Keller of the Coyotes (54). But it’s going to take a lot for him not to win it — and he seems to kind of know that.

“I think it’s talked about quite a bit and it’s kind of hard to ignore,” Barzal said. “When we go into a game, I’m not thinking I want to get points for the Calder Trophy. I want to win. I want to help this team win. You grow as a player. It’d be nice to win that and be rewarded. But at the end of the day, it’s a career and I don’t want to just be a one-season guy.”

Winger Anders Lee scored his team-leading 36th goal of the season, continuing to prove he is one of the best — if not the best — net-front players in the league. His goal came on a power play at 5:41 of the third period, roofing a backhand from just off the side of the net, an important goal that extended the Islanders’ lead to 3-1.

“It’s one of those things where you have to continue to learn in that position,” Lee said. “You take pride in that area. It’s what I do, so I work on that — work on tips, work on little plays in front. It’s just a part of the game you have to continue to develop.”

Goalie Christopher Gibson was solid in making 36 saves, the only blemish being a Conor Sheary layup off a great cross-ice feed from Phil Kessel at 17:14 of the second. Gibson, a 25-year-old rookie, was coming off a tough performance against the Capitals on Thursday, when he was pulled after allowing five goals on 12 shots.

“You always want to bounce back when you have a tough game like that,” Gibson said. “I just told myself that when I get that next chance, I’d be ready to go.”

Defenseman Thomas Hickey played his 400th career regular-season game, which he was quite proud of after the Islanders had picked him up off waivers from the Kings back in 2012.