BOSTON — Oliver Wahlstrom admitted that getting a fresh start with the Bruins was “really healthy” for him after his relationship with the Islanders seemed to go nowhere.
That's not to say Wahlstrom had anything negative to say about the Islanders, a team that drafted him and gave him many chances to establish himself, a team that has many of his friends.
It was just an acknowledgment of the reality everyone was seeing before Wahlstrom was fired last month.
“Just being able to see a different type of culture and things like that was really beneficial for me,” said Wahlstrom, now a Bruin who will play against the Islanders for the first time on Sunday night. I told you before. The Islanders won 5-4 in overtime. “The Islanders have been good to me. They drafted me and gave me a taste of the first five years, which was good.”
Wahlstrom, who plays on the Bruins' third line, recorded multiple chances in his 12 minutes, 58 seconds on ice Sunday, but still won points for the team he grew up rooting for as a kid in New England. I haven't.
He had four goals in 27 games for the Islanders this season, but was placed on waivers due to cap restrictions imposed by Mathieu Barzal and Anthony Duclair, who departed from LTIR.
The Bruins acquired Wahlstrom as a free agent after this season in the hopes that he could do what the Islanders couldn't and translate his outstanding talent into consistent NHL play.
“He shoots the puck really well,” Ryan Purock said. “That's been one of his skills ever since I played with him. He can be a big threat when he gets the puck near the net.”
Sunday saw Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri play on separate lines for the first time all season. Nelson centered Anders Lee and Barzal, while Palmieri played with Duclair and Bo Horvat.
Max Tsyplakov, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas formed the third line, with the fourth line remaining intact.
Three of the four were expected to shoot over 50 percent against the Bruins, with the only exception being Horvat's lineup. According to Natural Stat Trick, Horvat went 3-for-3 shorthanded and just missed the cutoff of 47.13 points.
“I thought everyone played really well,” Horvat said. “I thought Bargie’s line between Lisie and Nellie was really good tonight. Nelly flew in the middle, Licy played up front and scored big goals, and Virgie made the play there. The three of us were really good tonight. He had an expression on his face.”
Isaiah George (suspected concussion) and Simon Holmstrom (upper body) missed Sunday's game against the Bruins.
