New York Islanders: Anthony Beauvillier Needs A Big Second Half

After a slow start to the season, Anthony Beauvillier needs to heat up in the second half to help push the New York Islanders over the top.

16 games, that’s how long Anthony Beauvillier was stuck on one point this year for the New York Islanders. Nearly a quarter of the season was a rough start for Beau, who in back to back years had stretches where he looked like he didn’t have it at the NHL level.

Beauvillier would get hot from there, to now even out to four points in his last 10 games, which is much more like Beauvillier. With 19 points in 48 games, he’s on pace for 32 points this year which is a step down from last year.

If you take out the first 16 games when he only had one point, and look at the last 32 games with 18 points, that puts him on a 46 point pace over the course of a full 82 game season. That pace is more like it for Anthony, who was a first-round pick in 2015.

He’s playing with Mathew Barzal (leads the team in points) and Josh Bailey (tied for second on the team in points) on the second line. While Bailey is on pace for 62 points and Barzal 75, Beau trails further behind.

If he’s going to play with those two, the point production has to come up. Right now, the thought is if the Islanders are to be aggressive at the trade deadline that they will be looking for a winger to put in the top six.

With the way, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, and Jordan Eberle have been playing you’d assume that it would be Beauvillier who would be forced to move down in the lineup if a top-six forward was acquired. But Beauvillier can change that narrative if he heats up again like he did at this time last year.

It was January of 2018, the last time Beau got hot and went on a run to finish the season with 21 goals and 36 points. If he increases his production through the remaining 33 games the Isles may not need to give anything up at the trade deadline.

I’d like to see Beau crack 40 points this year. It would be a nice step forward in his progression after 36 last year. He would need 21 points in the Islanders 33 games to do that. To put that in perspective over his final 33 games last season he put up 22 points.

Essentially, all I’m asking from Bea is finish this year how he finished last year and crack the 40 point plateau.  The Isles will be in much better shape come April, if Anthony Beauvillier is on a hot streak.