Anthony Beauvillier was a healthy scratch for Saturday night’s game against the Devils at UBS Arena.
And, yes, coach Barry Trotz said other players struggling in the Islanders’ lineup should take it as a message.
"Internal competition is good," Trotz said. "You’ve got to get to your identity. You’ve got to be productive. If they want to read into it, yeah, I don’t have any problem with that."
Beauvillier has gone without a point in 13 straight games but really drew Trotz’s frustration in Thursday night’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Predators.
On Colton Sissons’ goal at 18:52 of the first period, Beauvillier defended lackadaisically against Matt Benning, heading to the bench for a line change instead of continuing to backcheck.