Lee-Barzal-Eberle Line Shines in Season Opener

During training camp, Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle continuously articulated their intentions of starting the 2020-21 season by picking up right where their line left off in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they combined for 42 points (17G, 25A) in 22 games.

The trio prides themselves on their unique chemistry that is synthesized by Lee's power and dominance around the crease and hash marks, Barzal's sharp skating and explosive speed and Eberle's cheeky creativity to weave in and out of plays.
In Thursday night's season-opening 4-0 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, the dynamic line appeared to be in mid-season form.
ISLANDERS 4, RANGERS 0
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Full Highlights
Nelson's PPG
Lee Snipes Shesterkin
Barzal Pads Lead
Postgame: Trotz
Postgame: Lee & Barzal
Postgame: Leddy & Varlamov
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Listen to Nelson's Goal
Listen to Lee's Goal
Listen to Barzal's Goal
Listen to Lee's Second Goal
"They were dangerous," Head Coach Barry Trotz said following the first win of the season. "[Barzal] was dangerous, he was using his feet. Lee was using his strength and they were moving the puck. [Eberle] was making plays. I thought he was really dangerous. I thought [Eberle] himself could have had three or four points tonight easily. When they're all moving, they're all skating and they're playing that 200-foot game, they get chances. A lot of their stuff came off of some good defense and some good transition. When you don't have the puck the goal is to get it back real quick. I thought they did a pretty good job today."
Lee, who Trotz noted was fantastic, finished the night with two goals, including one on the power play. Barzal scored his first of the season and showcased some impressive details in his defensive game. Eberle recorded an assist and was buzzing up and down every inch of the ice. The line combined for 15 of the Islanders 33 shots on goal, with seven coming from Lee, five from Barzal and three from Eberle.
The line made a point to start the season off with a dominant performance individually and as a line, and they delivered.
"You saw right from the puck drop that we pushed the pace," Barzal said. "Especially early on, the communication before the game, we were just talking about trying to play to each other's strengths. I like to skate and lug the puck up the ice, [Lee] is a beast down low and [Eberle] is nifty jumping in the holes and making quick plays with his good hands. Just playing to each other's strengths is how I think we're going to be successful. I thought we did that early on and that's why we were good tonight."
Lee scored his first goal of the game 1:19 after Brock Nelson put the Islanders on the board with a power-play tally. The Islanders captain took a high stick to the face and immediately drew blood, but before tending to his nicked up mouth, he read the play that was unfolding.
Instead of making a line change, Lee held his ground at the Rangers' blueline before collecting a cross-ice feed from Nick Leddy. On a two-on-one rush with Eberle, Lee opted for the shot. He picked his corner and sniped the puck to the far-side of Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin.
"I was a little upset, I took one to the teeth," Lee said. "I got lucky that the puck went to [Nick Leddy] and I could take a chance on hoping that one got out. He made a great play getting the puck down and it came right to me. I lucked out a little bit there and was fortunate a little bit too."

Barzal, who finished the game with a team-high plus-two rating, extended the Islanders lead 3-0 heading into the first intermission. Following a great read from Cal Clutterbuck, who intercepted a Rangers neutral zone passing sequence, he sprung Barzal for the counter rush. The 23-year-old jetted into the Rangers zone, showcased his smooth hands by stickhandling past Rangers blueliner Tony DeAngelo and ripped his shot just over Shesterkin's glove.
As impressive as Barzal's goal was, the electric center was applauded post-game for his diligence without the puck, a discipline of his game that he and Barry Trotz have been fine-tuning over the past two seasons.
On a number of occasions throughout the game, Barzal was a swift presence on the forecheck, he anticipated and reached out to get a stick on the next pass between two Rangers players. In doing so, he nearly scored his second goal of the night. Barzal forced a turnover at the netfront and tried to shift Shesterkin off balance and loft his shot top shelf, but was denied.
"It's something I'm trying to include in my game, over the last two years," Barzal said of his defensive play. "Just trying to get better at being on the right side of the puck and not cheating at offense. I'm a pretty good skater so I try to use that on the backcheck. That's something that doesn't really take skill, so I try to move my legs on the backcheck, try and pick off a pass, make it tougher on them. Just trying to use my attributes."

The Islanders second power-play conversion - of their eight opportunities throughout the night - and their fourth goal of the game was set up by Eberle. After Kieffer Bellows drew a hooking penalty on Rangers rookie Alexis Lafreniere and with just over five minutes left in the second period, the Islanders power play circulated the puck throughout the zone with 21-year-old Noah Dobson firmly quarterbacking the unit. Upon receiving the pass from Dobson, Eberle slung the puck right onto the stick of Lee for a doorstep tap-in.
"Without preseason games, there's a lot of penalties early on," Lee said. "The power play becomes really important - it's always important - but you're going to be on the power play quite a bit. It's nice to see us hone in on some good plays and get a couple to go."
While there's 55 regular season games to go and a slate filled with grueling competition in the East Division - including the second of eight meetings against the Rangers this season taking place on Saturday night - the Islanders and especially the Lee-Barzal-Eberle trio, felt their full-60 minute effort in Game 1 laid an encouraging foundation to continue to build off of.
"What we could control tonight were elements of our play - the little details - those details were huge for us tonight," Trotz said. "Everything from our discipline, to line changes, our structure defensively, our commitment. It's led by our leaders. I thought some of our leaders were fantastic tonight."