DALLAS — The Islanders’ new top line of Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Matthew Barzal didn’t get on the scoreboard in Monday night’s 3-2 win over the Stars.
But that didn’t stop head coach Patrick Roy from playing an impressive 16 minutes, 31 seconds at 5-on-5 until Horvat scored the game-winning goal on a feed from Barzal with 2:54 left in overtime. I loved how this trio played.
More than that, he likes what the other three new forward lines bring to the table, so much so that it looks like they’ll remain intact for the foreseeable future.
“I thought they had a lot of speed, and the more they play together, the more they’ll get a feel for each other,” Roy said of the top line. “Sometimes it takes a few games. But what I like about it is how fast it is. [Jean-Gabriel] I clicked on the page line. And the speed of that line is [Casey] Chicas clicked.And that [Kyle] McClane’s lines were really good. That’s why I say the four lines tonight were really good for us. ”
In fact, McLean was the only forward on the scoreboard at 5-on-5, and defenseman Ryan Purock scored the Islanders’ other point before overtime. However, attention has been focused on the top line, which combines the Islanders’ top three center scorers into a movement that creates offensive power.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the trio had nine shots and five scoring chances that night despite having an expected goal differential of less than 50 percent.
“It’s a little different,” said Nelson, who was out of position on the left side. “I was trying not to think about it. You find yourself in different places. Kind of weird expressions. Try reading Beau and Virgie. Probably Beau more so because we exchanged a little bit on the left side. Because it is possible.
“I thought there would be some transition looks. I definitely would have liked a little more pack. [offensive] Continued zone and generated offense. I felt okay. ”
After playing with AHL Bridgeport on conditioning duty Sunday night, Roy wasn’t sure if Hudson Fassing would join the team for Thursday’s game in Detroit.
In the 5-3 win over Springfield, Samuel Bolduc, also on conditioning duty, scored the winning goal and Fassing scored an empty-net goal.
