There’s a new NHL Goal of the Year contender, courtesy of the Islanders.

Mathew Barzal sped into a puck that bounced off the boards at center ice, tracked it down just in front of the opposing blue line, curved his body to fight off Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and created open space in front of the net.

But the best was still to come.

As he came in at an angle, Barzal slowed down, put the puck back through his legs and shot it from behind his back with the goalie completely out of position as he followed Barzal’s body and not his stick or the puck. It was the highlight of the Islanders’ 5-2 win over the reeling Sabres in at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday.

Ristolainen had the angle to cut off Barzal but wound up tumbling onto his boot and nearly crashing into the boards as he lost the 1-on-1 battle.  

It’s not the first time Barzal has scored between his legs. He scored in a similar fashion against the Stars last season, after a wide shot from the point bounced off the boards and he put his stick in an indefensible position.

Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves as the Islanders improved to 9-0-2 at Nassau Coliseum this season and 14-6-4 overall. Cal Clutterbuck, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee also scored.

The Islanders beat Buffalo for the fifth straight time this season, outscoring the Islanders 19-7 in those five meetings. The teams meet again Sunday for their third game in four days in the same venue.

Buffalo dropped its sixth straight game. Sam Reinhart and Jacob Bryson scored for the Sabres, and Carter Hutton made 24 saves.

Bryson put Buffalo in front when he scored his first career goal 33 seconds into his sixth game. The 23-year-old defenseman was selected by the Sabres in the fourth round of the 2017 draft.

But the Islanders responded with four goals in the second, including the memorable play by the speedy Barzal.

“Once I knew I had body position, I took it to the net,” Barzal said. ”I felt like Hutton was down. It was a lot of instinct, just being in the moment and reacting. I’d probably put it in my top two or three.”

Barzal has three goals and four assists in the last six games. He leads the Islanders with 22 points.

“Barzy scoring that goal the way he did, that lit a little bit of a fire for us,” Lee said. “We had a flurry after that and kept it going.”

Brock Nelson made it 2-1 at 5:16, taking a cross-ice pass from Anthony Beauvillier and firing a high shot past Hutton for his seventh goal.

Cal Clutterbuck extended the lead at 8:45, sending a wrist shot past Hutton for his second goal this season.

Scott Mayfield made it 4-1 with his second goal of the season at 15:29, firing another high shot past Hutton.

“Buffalo can create a lot and they came with a purpose today,″ Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. ”You have to be ready for the battle. That goal that Mat scored gave us a real good boost. That was huge for us.”

Reinhart scored his team-best ninth goal 52 seconds into the third on the power play before Lee added his team-leading 11th goal at 2:15.

Sabres coach Ralph Krueger tried to find answers after yet another disappointing finish for his team, which hasn’t won since a 4-1 road victory over the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 23.

“It’s just mental toughness at the moment,” he said. “We lost multiple individual battles that cost us the game. We have to continue to work. There’s no magic fix when you’re in a funk like this. I don’t feel a quit in the group.”

Trotz continued to be pleased by his team’s balanced scoring attack, a trademark since the veteran coach moved behind the Islander bench to start the 2018-19 season.

“I’m all about that, our team is built that way,” Trotz said. ”That’s a Barry Trotz style-win.”

— with AP