New York Islanders Four Players That Need Bounce Back Second Half

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GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 22: Anthony Beauvillier #72 of the New York Islanders celebrates after scoring against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period of 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) /

Anthony Beauvillier

There’s no denying it, Anthony Beauvillier had a poor first half. It took him way too long to get going, But what’s more worrisome is that these slow starts are becoming common.

Last season he was sent down to the AHL before coming back and lighting the lamp night after night. This season it took a Michael Dal Colle call-up to get Anthony Beauvillier going.

That call-up was on game number 16. Up to that point, Anthony Beauvillier had just a single point to his name. Sixteen games one point. From a guy who was on fire in the second half of the 2017-18 season, we expected more.

Again, he’s been better recently. He’s put up another 15 points so far. But with 16 points in 40 games played he’s on pace for 32 points. That’s down from the 36 he had in his sophomore season.

If Beauvillier is going to be a top six player he needs to finally produce like one. Anything less than 45 points seems like an unacceptable return for a guy that’s almost literally glued to Mathew Barzal’s hip.

That means he has 41 games to notch another 29 points on the season or 0.71 points per game. It’s manageable for him to hit, but he’s got to get back to producing. Over his last ten games, he has four points or 0.40 points per game. Picking 0.31 pts/g can be done.