Islanders Weekly Winners and Losers: Anders Lee goes missing

2 of 3

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 04: The New York Islanders coaching staff attend to bench duties during the game between the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on October 04, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Capitals defeated the Islanders 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Islanders didn’t have a great week, going 1-2-0. Who stood out for their good work and who stood out for the wrong reasons?

What a week for the New York Islanders. Both their top and bottom six decided to go cold at the exact same time. Meaning an already low scoring Islanders team was left with almost no offense over the week.

Between games against the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs, the Islanders scored five times. Meaning they averaged 1.67 goals per game this week. Over their last seven periods of play, they scored a single goal, just one.

What made things worse was the fact that the Islanders lost their number one defenseman in

Adam Pelech

for the rest of the season. The Islanders one strength, being able to defend, was now significantly weakened. With the lack of scoring the Isles have how are they going to win games?

Clearly it wasn’t a good week for the Islanders.

With that being said, here are three players that stood out for their positive contributions or for proving how valuable they are and another three players that made headlines for the wrong reasons this week.

UNIONDALE, NY – MARCH 29: Casey Cizikas #53 of the New York Islanders looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on March 29, 2012 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images) /

Winners

Casey Cizikas: 2 Goals

The Islanders had to rely on their bottom six to put up offense over the past few days, thankfully, Casey Cizikas was able to put up a few.

With two goals against the Washington Capitals, the Isles fourth line center was able to power his team to victory.

Cizikas now has eight goals on the season, putting him on pace for 18 goals at the end of the season. Remember when it was obvious Casey Cizikas would regress (subscription required) from his 20 goal season 2018-19? So much for that.

Brock Nelson: 2 Goals

The Islanders offense was completely inept this week. Again, they have five goals over three games. Over their last seven periods of play, they have a single goal, that single goal belongs to Brock Nelson.

With another goal against the Washington Capitals, Brock Nelson has been able to generate offense when the rest of his team can’t.

I know we’ve all gone over this before, but the transformation that Brock Nelson has gone through over the last two seasons is mind-blowing. Think back to 2017-18, before Barry Trotz arrived, Brock puts up his worst year since his rookie season, who had him as a potential 64 point player like he is today? No one.

Adam Pelech: Played 1 Game

Speaking about transformations, Adam Pelech is right up there with Brock Nelson. The Islanders third-round pick from 2012 was far from everyone’s favorite Islanders blueliner before Barry Trotz showed up. But over the last few years, that’s changed.

That was clear with the news that Pelech would be out indefinitely for the 2019-20 season. Fans, and even the GM we full of praise for Pelech (subscription required). That’s a win for Adam Pelech.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – DECEMBER 02: Anders Lee #27 of the New York Islanders skates against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on December 02, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Losers

Anders Lee: have you seen him?

Over his last three games, Anders Lee has a single point to his name, a helper on Tom Kuhnhackl‘s goal versus Washington. He hasn’t hit the back of the net since playing against Columbus on December 23. He was close to getting one against the Devils.

He’s also having a hard time just getting the puck on net. He put three shots on net against the Devils, but only hit the net once in the other two games this week. Take a step back and he’s only hit the net more than once on one occasion – the game versus the Devils – over his last five games.

Jordan Eberle: ditto

Just like Lee, Jordan Eberle has been missing this week. Eberle didn’t pick up a point and has been virtually absent for most nights.

Eberle hasn’t put a point for five straight games and hasn’t scored a goal since December 14. That’s ten games with a single goal to his name.

Getting six shots on net against Toronto was a good way to try and break that streak, but, as we all know, he wasn’t able to do that. The Islanders need him to pick it up and soon.

Next. Isles top 5 goals of the last decade

Noah Dobson: Nutmegged

Kasperi Kapanen is going to haunt the Islanders rookie’s dreams for a while. Kapanen made the Islanders 12th overall pick from 2018 look silly by playing the puck right between his legs before setting up Pierre Engvall for the easy goal.

Home / Editorials