Islanders: Grading Anthony Beauvillier’s bounce back 2019-20 season

New York Islanders Anthony Beauvillier had a bounce-back season in 2019-20.

After having what seemed to be his breakout season in 2017-18 in which he scored 21 goals and 36 points in 71 games for the New York Islanders, fans thought Anthony Beauvillier would take another big step forward in 2018-19.

However, this didn’t happen.

Beauvillier struggled last year, managing just 18 goals and 28 points in 81 games.

After having a disappointing season, Beauvillier went to work this past offseason and seemed to fix whatever issues he had because this season he was one of the Islanders best and most consistent forwards.

Playing in just 68 games — thanks to a shortened season due to COVID-19 — Beauvillier recorded career-bests in points (39) and assists (21). These two stats ranked sixth and ninth on the team, respectively. Beauvillier’s 18 goals this season ranked fourth on the Islanders.

Looking more closely at Beau’s 18 goals, three came on the powerplay, one was short-handed, and three were game-winners. These stats rank second, second, and third on the Islanders, respectively.

After averaging around 14 and a half minutes the last two seasons, Tito’s average ice-time jumped up nearly three minutes to 17:16. Breaking this up, Beauvillier averaged 14:50 at even-strength (fifth among forwards on the team, 11th among skaters on the team), 1:46 on the powerplay (seventh among forwards on the team, eighth among skaters on the team), and 0:38 on the penalty kill (eighth among forwards on the team, 14th among skaters on the team).

**It’s worth noting that Beauvillier didn’t play on the penalty kill at all last season.**

Beauvillier’s plus/minus this season wasn’t very good at a -11. However, plus/minus isn’t the best way to decide how well a player did on the defensive side of the game.

Unlike his plus/minus, Beau’s defensive point shares (DPS) of 1.0 suggests his defense was an asset to the Islanders rather than a liability. Additionally, Tito’s expected plus/minus (E+/-) was positive at 0.9 showing his game expects him to score more than he is to be scored on.

The Grade

Beauvillier had a much-needed bounce-back season this year. He set career-bests in multiple stat categories and cemented himself as the Isles second-line left wing. He also took on more responsibility this season by playing in pretty much every situation, as you can see with his increased average ice-time and him being added to the Isles’ penalty kill altogether.

However, at just 22 years old, Tito still has much to learn and can still improve several aspects of his game. His defense can get a bit better and he can cut down slightly with the turnovers.

With that being said, Beauvillier still had a very solid season for the Islanders and I think a grade a B+ is fair.

Hopefully, like we were expecting after the 2017-18 season, Beau can take a step forward in 2020-21.