Islanders Brightspot: Lee & Nelson formed Duo Lambert Must Keep

New York Islanders head coach, now ex-bench boss Barry Trotz uses the “pair” plan when deciding his lineups. For example, Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal had been a pair with rotating right-wingers since Trotz cam ashore in 2018. But after clear signs of struggles between the two, along with an injury, Trotz elected to break up the duo and saw success with a new duo in Anders Lee and Brock Nelson.

Just how dynamic were these two in their time together?

Before we divulge into the statistics, it is worth mentioning that on Jan. 24, a day before the Islanders were to face the Philadelphia Flyers, we saw for the first time in practice the separation of no. 27 and no. 13. Anthony Beauvillier had taken a maintenance day, which led to Trotz’s decision.

However, after practice, Trotz said, “I would say for the most part I’ve had Leezy and Barzy stapled together,” Trotz said. “I think there’s times when you keep doing the same thing, it’ll work for a few years, and then it will stop working.”

“Sometimes you just need a refresher.”

And when the Islanders took line rushes the next day at warmups, even with Beauvillier back in, Lee and Barzal were separated. And they started the game on two separate lines, but quickly were back together minutes into the contest.

The initial decision by Trotz was an interesting one, but not one he or anyone thought would be a staple for the New York Islanders going forward. It seemed like he was just trying to provide a spark for Lee and Barzal, get them clicking again.

However, in a game against the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 26, 13 games later, Mat Barzal fell victim to an ankle injury, which forced him out of the lineup for the next six contests.

In those five contests, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson skated 54:46 minutes together. While on the ice, the New York Islanders outshot their opponents 42-41 and outscored them 4-3 at five-on-five. They out-chanced their opponents 47-38, with 24 high-danger chances compared to their opponents, who only had 13.

Brock Nelson scored one goal at even strength, with Anders Lee netting three. When Mat Barzal was ready to return on Feb. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets, Trotz elected to keep Nelson and Lee together.

In the 27 remaining regular-season games, 284:30 minutes together, the Islanders scored 17 goals when no. 27 and no. 29 were on the ice, allowing 17 of their own. They were outchanced 174-136 at five-on-five,  79-46 in terms of high-danger, with 10 finding the back of the Islanders net.

By advanced statistical measurements, Lee and Nelson were not as great as they may have appeared on the surface.

However, the eye test showed that these two had a strong understanding of eachother’s game and whether it was at even-strength or either player coming through on the power play, there was certainly an uptick, especially in the month of March.

The move paid dividends for both players, in terms of confidence, but more so for Anders Lee, who entered the month of March with just 14 goals, ended his season with 28. Nelson entered the month of March with a team-leading 19 goals and ended his season with 37.

Out of the final 19 goals Nelson scored after being paired with Lee, 10 came at even strength with Lee assisting on four of them. Out of the 16 goals Lee scored after being paired with Nelson, eight came at even strength with Nelson assisting on three of them.

Special team-wise over this stretch of games, Nelson scored eight power-play goals, with Lee assisting on two of them. Lee notched six power-play goals, with Nelson not registering an assist on any of them.

I included power-play points just to show how their five-on-five play affected other areas of their games.

For all these stats, in terms of goals and assists, that does not mean each player did not play a helping hand, whether it was making a play along the boards in transition, drawing attention to themselves to provide more of a chance for a linemate. You guys know from watching hockey that there is so much more than the underlying stats.

When the season was all said and done, Brock Nelson led the Islanders with 37 goals and Anders Lee was second with his 28.

Following a disappointing 6-3 loss against the Boston Bruins on Mar. 26, I asked Brock Nelson about playing with Anders Lee and what difference it makes to his game.

“I think we’ve had some, you know, familiarity with one another over the years. We’ve played, you know, long stretches in our early days. And then a couple years ago with Ebs (Eberle),” Nelson said after a game against the Boston Bruins on Mar. 26.  “I know Anders’ game, you know, really well skated with him a lot you know, year-round so easy guy to read off of, great guy, works hard. ”

“So when you get the chance to play with him, it makes my job pretty easy and he’s dangerous out there, so that opens space up for me.”

On locker room cleanout day, Anders Lee was asked about Brock Nelson’s impressive showing this past season and said that it was deserved.

“It was awesome. It’s such a phenomenal year, and he’s such a natural goal scorer, and you know, he gets an opportunity, and with his shot, he’s gonna put it in the net, and he did a phenomenal job of doing that this season. To see his hard work and to see all that come to fruition a little bit this year is awesome.”

But it was not just about the offense and Lee made it a point of emphasis to point that out.

“He’s one of the best two-way centers in this league, and he doesn’t get enough credit for that,” Lee said. “And it was great to see him get recognized a little bit for that, but also just individually be able to, you know, put a number up there that he’s deserved.”

The conversation has always been regarding who should the New York Islanders acquire to play alongside Anders Lee and Matt Barzal.

But after what we saw on an individual level and alongside one another over the last 27 games, is Anders Lee’s future alongside Brock Nelson?

All statistics in this article are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick