Sometimes in hockey timing is everything and for Jordan Eberle, his second goal in his last 16 playoff contests couldn’t have come at a better time.
With the Islanders season on the line and the focus on the team’s lack of production from the top line, Eberle did what he has done time and time again in big moments. In Game 5 on Tuesday night, he answered the call.
Eberle scored 12:30 into the second overtime period off a cross-ice pass from Anders Lee to keep the Islanders season alive and extend the Eastern Conference Finals series with the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Game 6.
“That’s the biggest (goal) in a long time, for sure,” Eberle said. “First you have to have the opportunity to do it. Teams battled hard to get to where we are and we’re not finished. You have to look at the whole play. (Lee) did a heck of a job chipping it to himself and then making a great pass to me. I just had to put it in.”
As simple as Jordan Eberle wanted to make his role seem, finding the back of the net hasn’t come easy for the 30-year-old forward recently. The game-winning goal snapped a three-game goalless drought and a 15 game span where Eberle scored just once.
Anders Lee sets up Jordan Eberle for the 2 OT winner. #Isles force Game 6 pic.twitter.com/FscDEwFwJ3
— NYI Hockey Now (@NYIHockeyNow) September 16, 2020
Game 5 was also a big night for his line overall, which had a combined six points through the first four games of the Eastern Conference Finals. On Tuesday they combined for three points, with Anders Lee getting the primary assist on the winning goal and Mat Barzal recording a secondary assist on Ryan Pulock’s first-period goal.
Islanders coach Barry Trotz did opt to adjust his lineup a bit for Game 5. Trotz dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Tuesday, which was the first time the Islanders coach has done that in the playoffs.
The result was a bit of mixing and matching when it came to the forward lines.
“I think we did a really good job of staying composed, staying alert on the bench,” Eberle said. “Just being ready wherever you got the chance to do it. Obviously the last few games my line, in particular, hasn’t had a lot of success offensively, but you switch things up. We’re a team that we win by committee and we lose by committee.
“You get a chance with a couple of other guys, it’s just fresh.”
Still, the significance of Eberle scoring the winner can’t be overstated, nor should it come as a total surprise.
“The boys battled hard tonight. We had some moments in the d-zone, especially in overtime where we had a broken stick, collapsed and just held on. To score that, continue to move on and give ourselves another chance in a couple of days is huge.”
🎥 More from Eberle & Pulock: pic.twitter.com/MO53JxttbX
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) September 16, 2020
Looking back at Eberle’s past he has had plenty of big goals in big moments over the course of his career. On big stages like the World Juniors, Eberle has played hero time and time again. And of course, there were some moments during his time in Edmonton with the Oilers.
“I think it’s just the demeanor,” Trotz said about Jordan Eberle. “Everything from the World Juniors to all those things, he’s scored a number of big goals. … He doesn’t get too worried about the moment. He puts a lot of pressure on himself sometimes when he’s not scoring. He has a pretty high level of expectations that he puts on himself, but I think he just enjoys those moments.
“I’ve had a couple of players that enjoy those moments and he seems to be one of them.”
The Islanders couldn’t have asked for a better time for Eberle to find that scoring prowess that he has shown that he has. On Tuesday it helped the Islanders extend their stay in the Edmonton bubble for a few more days and force Tampa Bay back on their heels a bit.
Game 6 is Thursday at 8 p.m.
