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Anthony Beauvillier Injury Could Lead to More Lineup Tinkering by Islanders

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Anthony Beauvillier New York Islanders

The situation with Anthony Beauvillier is fluid.

The Islanders forward was injured in Sunday’s 2-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils and is currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury. That’s about as detailed as head coach Barry Trotz was willing to get with the media on Monday afternoon.

The Isles are in Washington preparing for their first meeting of the year with the Capitals at Capital One Arena. It will be the first of two games that they’ll see the Caps this week and their first chance to rebound from their second shutout loss of the year.

That task will be made harder, however, when you factor in that Beauvillier may not be in the lineup on Tuesday. The Islanders have been inconsistent offensively, scoring four goals twice this young season and then being shutout in both losses they’ve suffered.

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Now they’ll have to piece together a lineup that can help curb some of the team’s offensive struggles.

“Obviously we might have to do some gymnastics in terms of our roster,” head coach Barry Trotz said. “There’s a lot of parts of our game we do really well. … Teams are locking it down defensively. Goaltenders seem to be sharp. Yeah, we’re looking for an odd goal or two. We’re OK if we can win 1-0. Just don’t like losing 1-0.”

Anthony Beauvillier is the first injury situation that the Islanders have really had to deal with early on this season. The team had a COVID scare last week when Josh Bailey briefly appeared on the COVID protocol list, but he did not miss any games.

Trotz had already tinkered with the Islanders lineup on Sunday, playing Michael Dal Colle in place of the more offensive-minded Kieffer Bellows. Depending on Beauvillier’s status there could be more changes to the lineup, which highlights the importance for everyone to be ready.

“We have success as a group when everyone contributes,” Trotz said. “That’s our top-six. That’s our bottom-six. So when guys come into the lineup, they have to contribute. They just can’t put on the jersey and be part of the team. They’ve got to find ways to contribute. Some guys have to contribute offensively because that’s more of their skill set.

“Some guys have to do it with the physical play or the checking prowess. … Whatever you bring to the table you better bring it.”

Sunday’s appearance was Dal Colle’s first this season for the Islanders. The more seasoned forward had established himself as somewhat of a regular in the lineup, appearing 53 games last season.

Dal Colles said he felt he learned a lot from his year with the Islanders last season, not only during the regular season, but in the playoff bubble as well.

The 24-year-old was happy with the way he and his linemates played against New Jersey, albeit, he admitted they could have gotten off to a faster start. Dal Colle is also very aware of hight tight the competition is for roster spots on a day to day basis.

“Everyone knows every day you’re battling for spots,” Dal Colle said. “Everyone wants to be in the lineup. We have a tone of bodies all with NHL experience. I think we know every day we come to the rink we’re going to need to work hard and push each other. I think (Trotz) is going to put the best lineup he thinks can win. We know that and it starts in practice.”

The Islanders have a pair of more offensively minded forward in youngsters Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom. The aforementioned Wahlstrom has yet to play this season, but he could be an option with the Islanders’ scoring falling on the top-six of the lineup.

The injury to Anthony Beauvillier could make it harder to adjust that issue.

“I think what you’re finding most of our games one or the other of our top two lines are carrying the load and we’re not getting that complete contribution through the lineup right now,” Trotz said. “When we’re most successful we’re getting, one night it’s the fourth line. The next night it’s the third, but three of the four lines are contributing. Lately, we’ve just had one of the four lines that have had an effect on the game.”

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