Eyes On Isles
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New York Islanders Anthony Beauvillier Two Seasons In One

By Michel Anderson

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 22: Anthony Beauvillier #72 of the New York Islanders awaits a face off against the Arizona Coyotes during the NHL game at Gila River Arena on January 22, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Islanders 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 22: Anthony Beauvillier #72 of the New York Islanders awaits a face off against the Arizona Coyotes during the NHL game at Gila River Arena on January 22, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Islanders 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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It was another slow start to a season for New York Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier, but after exploding to life against the New York Rangers, he hasn’t looked back.

Maybe we owe Michael Dal Colle a thanks. The New York Islanders called up their fourth overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft on November 15th. They didn’t play him, instead keeping him on the scratch pad.

The idea seemed clear. Beau would get one last chance and if nothing came of it Dal Colle would take Beauvillier’s spot on the top six.

At the time, Anthony Beauvillier was struggling with only a single point in the Islanders first sixteen games of the season. But with his spot in jeopardy Beauvillier responded with a hat-trick and an assist against the Rangers.

Ever since, Beau has been on fire.

A Whole New Player

In his first 16 games Beauvillier had a single point. That’s a pace of five points over 82 games. In his following 16 games Beauvillier has 12 points. That’s a pace of 56 points over a full season.

We saw the same scenario play out last season for Beauvillier. By January he had eight points on the season. The poor production earned him tip down to the AHL for a few days.

When Beau came back to the NHL he was a totally new player. Between January 13th, 2018 and April 7th, 2018 he scored 28 points playing next to Mathew Barzal.

It seems that the difference in Beauvillier’s game this season is where he’s taking his chances. Rather than taking his shots from outside of the slot he’s getting between the dots in the offensive zone.

Unfortunately for Michael Dal Colle the adjustment to Beau’s game spelled the end of any chance he had at playing top six minutes in the NHL this season.

The change in Beauvillier’s season has been outstanding. It’s not new, again, he did the same last season. But this time around Beauvillier has longer to get those numbers up. He’s a completely new player since that game against the Rangers and were all for it.

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Its great to see that Beauvillier was able to shake whatever was plaguing his production at the start of the season. The hope is that next season he’ll be able to sort things out much sooner than game number 17.

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