Anders Lee quietly excelling this year and being an offensive leader

As the Islanders have catapulted their way up the standings in the East Division in recent weeks, they’ve received some dynamite play from Anders Lee.
The Isles captain tallied three goals during the back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres, adding an essential ferocity to the team’s attack. After perfectly executing a tip-in goal from a give-and-go pass between Josh Bailey and Noah Dobson in the first five minutes, Lee added another empty-net goal in the third to give the Islanders a 3-0 win and hand rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin his first win and shutout with the team. 
“Saw (Lee) coming down the backside and just tried to give him an opportunity to get a shot off,” Dobson said of the play. “He made a heck of a play to bury that one and great play by both (Bailey) and (Lee).”

Oh man was that pretty. #Isles pic.twitter.com/JplFvsdtl8

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) February 17, 2021

Tuesday’s performance from Lee was another strong showing from what has been a quietly effective year for him thus far. Lee is showing a lot more consistency in his game — as opposed to his struggles in the regular season last year despite scoring 20 goals — and the Islanders continue to be the beneficiaries. Prior to traveling to Buffalo, Lee scored the game-winner in the Isles’ win over the Penguins back on February 6th. During Monday night’s 3-1 win, he scored on one of his two shots within the last few minutes of the first period.
In the first 15 games of this season, the 30-year-old forward has notched seven goals and 10 points, and he is currently going on a three-game point streak. Since earning four out of his seven goals in February, it’s safe to expect that his goals, assists and points will only trend upwards. 
If he can keep up this momentum and continue his scoring trend from this recent series, he has the potential to carry the Islanders to the playoffs once again. 
 
Follow Dani on Twitter at @daniraemohr