Islanders: 3 Players that are MIA in Florida Panthers series

Anders Lee

Stats: 5SOG

Have you seen Anders Lee? I know he’s there, but Anders Lee has been a non-factor in this best-of-five series against the Florida Panthers. Zero goals, zero assists, and five shots on goal. Four of those shots came in Game 2. He had one shot in Game 1 and none in Game 3.

That’s not enough from any player let alone the captain.

Just like Barzal, Lee is being targetted by the Panthers. As a former 40-goal scorer that makes sense. While Mathew Barzal is the creator Anders Lee is supposed to be the finisher.

The Panthers have so-far done a good job at shutting down both Barzal and Lee.

Lee’s underlying numbers – at 5on5 – are better than Barzal’s. His xGF% (8th), SCF% (6th), and HDCF% (8th) all rank in the top half for Isles skaters. But we’ve seen that all year from Lee. His underlying numbers in the regular season look good, but the end result isn’t quite there.

Specifically on the power play.

I don’t want to harp too hard on the Isles power play. Through three games they’ve gone 3-for-13 which equates to a 23.1% efficiency. Which is significantly better than the regular season where the Islanders held a 17.3% efficiency. But Anders Lee has struggled on the man-advantage through the regular season and now in the playoffs.

We know Anders Lee’s production certainly isn’t there in the postseason with zero points and power-play numbers explain why. Like the regular season, Lee isn’t shooting the puck with only one shot on the power play. His expected goals for is one of the lowest on the team as are his scoring-chances for and high-danger chances for.

Going forward Lee is going to have to step it up at least on the power play.