Jordan Eberle likely knew what was coming from the first day of training camp, when Barry Trotz put the Islanders through a grueling day of on-ice workouts and off-ice conditioning tests. Hard work and sacrifice were going to be the watchwords for this season — not that Eberle wasn’t willing to work hard, of course, but the thought of seeing his numbers go down in a contract year might not have been so appealing.



“I think everybody knew, with the way Lou (Lamoriello) and Barry approach things, that your individual numbers just weren’t going to be there,” Eberle said. “But you don’t really get frustrated because you’re winning. I’m sure there’s guys on some teams right now who’d be very happy to sacrifice some of their points for a shot at the playoffs.”



Eberle certainly knows whereof he speaks as he sits on the cusp of just his second postseason in nine NHL seasons. But he also sits on the cusp of...