Anthony Beauvillier activated by Islanders after missing nine games with injury
Anthony Beauvillier #18 of the Islanders skates against the Boston Bruins at NYCB Live on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Barry Trotz typically keeps his Islanders’ lineup steady when the team is winning. But getting a healthy Anthony Beauvillier back trumped the coach’s preference.
Beauvillier was activated off injured reserve after missing nine games with a lower-body injury and logged 16:31 with one shot in Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over the Sabres at KeyBank Center.
Leo Komarov was re-assigned to the taxi squad to open a roster spot. Beauvillier took Komarov’s spot on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s left wing along with Oliver Wahlstrom to start, though Trotz mixed his personnel frequently all game.
"I thought Beau had lots of pop," said Trotz, who had kept his lineup the same the previous five games. "He was excited. His details were pretty good. He did fade a little bit in the third."
The streaky Beauvillier has just one assist in six games as he was taken out of a 2-0 loss to the Devils at Prudential Center on Jan. 24 with his injury.
"I think we all know what Beau can bring and that’s a ton of speed," captain Anders Lee said. "He can create a lot of plays off of that and his work ethic."
Schedule changes
The Islanders had three games rescheduled as part of the NHL announcing 29 changes overall on Tuesday.
The Islanders will now face the Devils at Prudential Center on March 14 at 5 p.m. instead of on April 27. They will play in Philadelphia on March 22 at 7 p.m. instead of April 25 and they will be in Washington on April 27 at 7 p.m. instead of March 15.
Isles files
Mathew Barzal had his career-high, nine-game point streak snapped . . . The Islanders were 0-for-2 with three shots on the power play after going 4-for-6 over their previous five games.
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.
