TORONTO — The Islanders lost Simon Holmstrom in their final game of 2024 on Tuesday afternoon, but the Swedish forward suffered an upper-body injury two days earlier in Pittsburgh.
Holmstrom missed the final 8 minutes and 46 seconds of the 3-2 loss to the Penguins, and coach Patrick Roy said he was day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Pierre Engvall returned to action against Toronto after being soundly scratched for four consecutive games, playing on the fourth line alongside Kyle MacLean and Hudson Fassing. Casey Cizikas moved up to Holmstrom's spot alongside Bo Horvat and Anthony Duclair.
This was Holmstrom's first time out in the NHL due to injury, and the game came at less-than-ideal timing as the Islanders desperately needed to rack up wins to stay in the playoffs. Ta.
Holmstrom has been one of the bright spots in an overall gloomy season for the Islanders, who are already just three points shy of 25 points in half of last season's games.
The consistency that was missing during his first two years in the league, especially on the offensive side of the game, is starting to shine through, with Holmstrom playing a more aggressive game and looking more motivated to shoot the puck.
The Islanders have already dealt with injuries this season to star forwards Duclair and Matt Barzal, both of whom missed extra time and returned just a few weeks ago.
Getting injured again just after he was finally healthy was the exact opposite of what they needed.
