Top Guns: The Isles First Line

John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Anders Lee weren't just the New York Islanders top line last week - they were the NHL's top line.
Tavares (2-7-9), Bailey (4-4-8) and Lee (3-3-6) were the top three scorers in the NHL, combining for 23 points (9G, 14A). All three are riding at least four-game point streaks, with Lee and Bailey both on five-game runs.

"They are in one right now," head coach Doug Weight said of his red-hot top line on Saturday. "They are a special line, a special group and three special players. They're rolling and we have to ride them."
Tavares, Bailey and Lee all scored in the Islanders' 4-3 OT win over the LA Kings on Saturday night, leading the team back from a 2-0 deficit. Lee's goal, a terrific backhand roof job with 3:16 to play, would have held up as the game-winner if not for Anze Kopitar's tying goal with 13 seconds to play.

This wasn't just a one-off for the Islanders top line, which has been one of the most offensively-potent trios in the NHL. All three are in the top-16 of NHL scorers, with Tavares (19G, 21A) and Bailey (9G, 31A) tied for third with 40 points apiece, while Lee's 35 points (20G, 15A) are 16th in the NHL. Combined, the Islanders top line has 115 points (48G, 67A) this season.
"They've led us all season," said Jordan Eberle. "They've been huge. Bails is really playing well and JT is flying and so is Anders. On a nightly basis, you need a top line to be going and those guys have been leading the way."
Lee's 20 goals are third in the NHL (Tavares is fourth), Bailey's 31 assists are tied for second in the league. Bailey and Tavares are the first Islanders to score 40 points in the first 33 games of a season since Pierre Turgeon in 1993-94.
BAILEY NAMED NHL THIRD STAR OF THE WEEK
"The three of us have been feeding off one another, so a lot of credit goes to those guys and their ability to finish," Bailey said. "I'm fortunate enough that I get to play with two of the best goal scorers in the game."
Tavares scored over a point-per-game in the 2014-15 season, so this isn't new territory for the captain, but this is the best start for Lee and Bailey in their careers.
Lee is the first Islander to score 20 goals in 33 games since Tavares in 2012-13 and the first Islander to score 20 goals before Christmas since Ziggy Palffy in 1996-97. Last season, Lee's 20th goal came on Feb. 12, though in the last calendar year (starting and ending on Dec. 18), he's second in the NHL with 45 goals, trailing only Nikita Kucherov.

Bailey has taken his game to a new level this season after setting career-highs in 2016-17. The longest-tenured Islander is scoring over a point-per-game for the first time in his 10-year career. He recorded his first-career hat-trick on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets and has twice been recognized as one of the NHL's three stars of the week this season (2nd - Nov. 6, 3rd - Dec. 18).
The top line has been remarkably consistent this season, with at least one member hitting the score sheet in 28 of the Islanders first 33 games. In games where all three hit the scoresheet the team is 9-4-0.
As of Dec. 18, the Islanders are one of two teams with three players among the NHL's top-20 scorers (St. Louis being the other) and only Tampa Bay's top-three scorers have combined for more points than Tavares, Lee and Bailey.
"They've expanded their roles and their confidence," Weight said. "Right now it's just a line they feel like they can score every time they get on the ice."