Scoring is certainly an issue for the New York Islanders. While the team’s defense group is strong and their goaltending has been solid for the last two seasons, there's always the question of where New York's goals will be coming from on any given night. Mathew Barzal is key up front for the Islanders but come playoff time, he won’t be able to do it alone. One forward that stepped up big time in last year’s playoffs and will be counted on once again is Jordan Eberle.
Before even entering the league, Eberle had a reputation as a clutch performer, just based on his stellar performances in important games at the World Juniors in 2009 and 2010.
That’s what made it all the more surprising that when he finally reached the postseason with Edmonton for the first time in 2017, he went without a goal in 13 games and had just two assists in that time. It’s fair to say that his playoff performance was among the reasons that he was traded by the Oilers that offseason.
So last year, after the worst regular season of his career, there weren’t a whole lot of expectations for Eberle entering the postseason. However, he was arguably New York’s top playoff performer, scoring four goals and nine points in eight games.
This season, Eberle had 12 goals and 22 points in his final 25 games and there’s no reason he won’t carry that performance into the playoffs. Last season, New York lacked offense in the playoffs and Barzal, Eberle and Josh Bailey were the only forwards on the team to score more than four points in eight games (and it’s probably best not to bank on Bailey for consistent offense). As a result, Eberle will need to be among the players that's showing up to produce offensively on a consistent basis.
This is Eberle’s chance to regain his label as a clutch performer and he’s one player the Islanders will need to be able to count on for offense if they hope to make a deep run.
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Here's today's poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Was Jordan Eberle New York's top playoff performer last season?
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