Anthony Beauvillier shows signs of breaking out of scoring slump
Anthony Beauvillier of the Islanders skates against Rasmus Ristolainen of the Flyers during the third period at UBS Arena on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The points might be starting to flow again for Anthony Beauvillier.
Always a streaky player in his seven NHL seasons, Beauvillier had a goal and an assist in the Islanders’ 5-2 win over the Flyers at UBS Arena on Saturday night, giving him two goals in four games after going 10 games without a goal.
“It’s been kind of a tougher stretch for me lately but I’m trying to find my game, trying to be good, trying to help the team to win in other ways than just scoring goals,” Beauvillier said. “The points are coming hard for me lately, and I’m just trying to play my game. As long as you have chances and you feel good about yourself, points are points, they’re going to come at some point. I’m not worried about that.”
Beauvillier has five goals and five assists in 22 games as the Islanders (15-8-0) take a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s rematch against the Flyers in Philadelphia. He had 12 goals, including five on the power play, and 22 assists last season.
Beauvillier, from behind the crease, set up defenseman Adam Pelech’s opening goal Saturday. He gave the Islanders a 4-2 lead from the slot at 3:19 of the third period, just 22 seconds after Brock Nelson’s deciding goal. It left him one shy of reaching the 200-point milestone for his career.
“Sometimes it’s that one little play, one little bounce, one little break or one game,” Beauvillier said of what has snapped him out of scoring slumps in the past. “It’s the way it happens. It’s a grind and you’ve got to almost embrace it. You never really want to be in that situation. But it is what it is and I try to fight through it.”
Beauvillier endured a 14-game stretch in which he didn’t record a point last season. He had a stretch of one goal in 19 games in 2019-20.
But he also has a knack for big moments. His overtime goal in Monday’s 3-2 victory in Toronto, which started the Islanders’ latest winning streak, was the fifth of his career. His overtime winner in Game 6 of the 2021 NHL semifinals against the Lightning gave Nassau Coliseum a very fitting farewell as the Islanders’ home rink.
Beauvillier, playing on Nelson’s right wing along with Anders Lee, also uses his speed to play a responsible two-way game even when he’s not scoring.
“He’s just playing confident and free, and that’s something that benefits everybody when you’re able to let your mind go and let instincts take over,” Nelson said. “He’s a speed guy and he can create little plays and make little plays to generate offense.”
“He’s hounding guys,” coach Lane Lambert said. “He uses his quickness to take away time and space and I think he’s getting some reward for it.”
Notes & quotes: Defenseman Robin Salo, a healthy scratch for the 19th straight game on Saturday, was loaned to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, which hosted Springfield on Sunday afternoon . . . After completing a stretch of four games in six nights, the Islanders did not practice on Sunday.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
