At 33 years old, Anders Lee knows what he is and isn’t, and he has been through enough hot and cold spells to know not to put much stock in either.
But even Lee, usually as much a look-on-the-bright-side voice as there is in the Islanders’ dressing room, admits that his own slow start to this season has been bothersome with just one goal in 12 games.
“It can be difficult, but all you gotta do is work through it,” Lee told The Post before the Islanders played Washington on Saturday. “Stay positive. Played a lot of hockey and these things happen. It’s tough to start the season out this way. Feels even more impactful.”
Lee has never scored fewer than 20 goals when playing a full NHL season and has been within spitting distance of 30 each of the past two years.
It would be bold to take that off the table after just 12 games, but suffice to say it would take an uptick in play.
For years, the Islanders’ captain has made his bones around the net, boxing players out and utilizing quick reactions and good hands to get on pucks.
Whether it’s due to age or mere luck of the draw in a small sample size, those chances have not been there in the same way this season.
Even the goal Lee did score did not come in his usual greasy style, but on a wrist shot from the slot.
His shot chart last season is noticeable for its density around the net.
So far this season, the same chart does not have the same density.
“He’s been working,” coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s been going to the net. He’s been doing things that he’s done over the course of his career. Sometimes you need one or two to get things going. We’re hoping that’s the way it goes for him.”
Lee’s linemates have also not been consistent.
Already he has played on each of the top three lines, starting the season on the third, moving to the first, making a cameo on the second in Boston on Thursday then going back to the third for Saturday’s game.
His ice time is down as well, mostly due to getting bumped off the top power play unit in favor of Kyle Palmieri.
“I feel like there can be more [chances],” Lee said. “You see these guys, they have a lot of grade-As before they get one to go. It’s no different in my position around the net. You gotta find some grade-As. Gonna have some touches there where you like what you did with it [and] the goalie makes a save, it hits the post, doesn’t go in. So you gotta stay with it.
“That percentage will start to come in your favor. When it’s dry, it feels pretty dry. You just gotta push through it. This game challenges you.”
This particular dry spell, he said, feels different because it is coming at the start of the season.
Bad scoring runs happen to everyone, every year over 82 games.
But that does not make it easier to sugarcoat one goal and one assist in 12 games, with the Islanders entering Saturday on a three-game losing streak to boot.
“These dry spells, there’s times when you’re doing everything you can to play good hockey. You need a bounce or two or some luck,” Lee said. “And then there’s times, too, where you gotta find a way to get out of it on your own.”
No prizes for guessing which category this falls under.
“I’m definitely looking forward to getting out of it,” Lee said. “And doing what I can to make our team better.”
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