Young Killer ‘B’s’ come through for Isles

Barzal, Beauvillier reach milestones, lift New York over Philly

April 4, 2018 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Calder Trophy front-runner Mathew Barzal became the first Islander rookie with at least 80 points since Hall of Famer Mike Bossy amassed 91 in 1977-78. AP Photo by Adam Hunger

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Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier can’t buy a drink in Brooklyn just yet.

But Islander fans should raise a glass to toast the two 20-year-olds as they continue to provide hope for a better future for our borough’s NHL franchise.

The not-yet-legal-to-drink tandem combined on the game-winning goal Tuesday night at the Barclays Center, lifting the Islanders to a 5-4 victory against the playoff-hopeful and previously red-hot Philadelphia Flyers in front of 11,951 fans on the corners of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.

Barzal, a virtual lock for Calder Trophy honors, awarded annually to the league’s top first-year player, amassed three points in the victory, giving him 80 on the season, the most by an Islander rookie since Hall of Famer Mike Bossy broke in with 91 during the 1977-78 campaign.

Beauvillier, who was sent to the minors earlier this season after scuffling a bit at the NHL level, recorded his first-ever 20-goal season and added a pair of assists. He has scored in four straight contests and six of his last seven.

But none of it appeared to be enough when Claude Giroux’s power-play tally with 6:56 remaining capped a three-goal, third-period outburst by the Flyers, who entered the contest on an eight-game points streak and were on the verge of clinching one of the Eastern Conference’s two remaining wild-card spots.

With the contest suddenly knotted at 4-4, the Islanders’ young Killer B’s took over.

Beauvillier picked up a stray puck along the right boards near center ice, deftly skated past a defender and sent a perfect feed into the middle that Barzal scooped up and neatly planted past Philadelphia netminder Petr Mrazek with 6:28 left on the clock.

Barzal, who had given New York a 4-1 lead late in the second period off assists from Beauvillier and Jordan Eberle, now has the fourth-most points by an NHL rookie over the past 18 years.

But the numbers aren’t what drives the Isles’ first-round pick in the 2015 Draft.

Instead, it’s the steady progression he and his teammates have made despite a disappointing record and what will be their second straight non-playoff season.

“It’s exciting, but not really something that I’ve had a chance to look back on,” Barzal said.

“The season moves pretty quick, so you can’t really get caught up in what you’ve got, what you’re sitting on or how much you need,” he added. “I’m sure when the season is over, looking back over the whole year, it’ll be pretty special, I think.”

Beauvillier, who struggled at season’s start, is flourishing down the stretch. Eighteen of his career-high 20 goals have come since the turn of the New Year.

“It feels good,” Beauvillier said of his late-season surge.

“You set your objectives early in the year, your goals and what you want to accomplish, and that was definitely up there. I’m happy to get to 20 goals.”

Team captain John Tavares also netted a pair of goals and Thomas Greiss stopped 27 shots for New York, which has just two regular-season games remaining, beginning with Thursday night’s home finale against the archrival Rangers.