Anthony Beauvillier Shining During Fourth-Line Stint, Game on the Rise?

When New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz decided to put Anthony Beauvillier on the fourth line ahead of the game against the Vancouver Canucks this past Wednesday, it was a move no one saw coming.

Anthony Beauvillier has struggled mightily in 2021-22 and had already been benched once early in the season for his lackluster play.

For a line built on simple hockey, grit, and forechecking, it seemed that Trotz was not punishing Beauvillier but trying to get him to reset his games, get back to the basics.

And for two games, he got the Anthony Beauvillier he was looking for.

Trotz got a simpler version of Beauvillier. This season, Beauvillier has been an overthinker and an underperformer, doing too much with the puck. He was on a line with a fitness shooter in Brock Nelson, and he had tried to play to that level but to no avail.

With the fourth line, Beauvillier’s job was not to be an offensive specialist. His new job was about getting pucks deep and wearing down the opponents.

In the 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks, Beauvillier skated hard, made the plays he had to make, and set up the Islanders fourth goal of the first period.

CIZIKAS pic.twitter.com/J1K1N31Lov

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 10, 2022

Statwise, Beauvillier did not have much to say besides his assist. But the eye-test showed a player doing everything he could to make play, using his quickness to hunt down loose pucks and make plays.

And in the 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, Anthony Beauvillier was by far the Islanders best player. He notched a goal while on the power play to cut the deficit to 2-1 (at the time) and ended the night with two shots, another shot off the crossbar, and was very active in 16:26 TOI.

Beauvillier cuts the lead in half.#LGI pic.twitter.com/mk7rFuRMtZ

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 12, 2022

From the get-go, Beauvillier had an extra jump in his step. He was attacking the puck, flying around the ice. The fourth line may have been the most dominant line for the Islanders in the loss as Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas racked up the hits with a total of nine, and recorded two shots each, while Anthony Beauviller used his speed to pressure the Oilers.

During the third period, Anthony Beauvillier was reunited with Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey on the second line. Did Trotz make the switch because of how well Beauvillier had been playing and he wanted the second line to get a boost or was it because Beauvillier had responded well enough to his demotion and had earned the right to be back in a top-six role?

The answer is more than likely a combination of both.

Beauvillier just looked like a brand new player on the fourth line. The simple brand of hockey he was forced to play with Martin and Cizikas allowed Beauvillier to reset his game and it was evident that there was a newfound sense of confidence in the 24-year old.

If the Islanders were to have beat the Edmonton Oilers or at the very least got a point, all signs would have pointed to Barry Trotz going with the same lines again against the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Because of the loss and because of the in-game line change, Beauvillier may be back to his normal spot when the puck is dropped at 10 PM ET.

If and when Beauvillier is back with Nelson and Bailey, he needs to bring that confidence with him and that consistency.

And by consistency, I mean being an impactful player on a nightly basis. There have been too many times this season when Beauvillier is invisible on the ice. But as seen over the last two games, his skating ability makes him rather visible and even if pucks are not finding the back of the net, that skating needs to be on display.

Anthony Beauvillier has eight goals and nine assists in 38 games played this season. In two games since the All-Star break, he has a goal and an assist.