It was almost a year ago that Lane Lambert pulled the plug on an early-season experiment that had Simon Holmstrom skating on the top line with Bo Horvat and Matt Barzal.
Lambert returned to that composition a month later, but again it didn't last, and it didn't last much last season either. That's why the Islanders signed Anthony Duclair in the first place.
Now that Duclair is injured, the Islanders have returned to the team for what the team has only described as an “extended period” (they had not yet placed Duclair on long-term injured reserve before Tuesday's game against the Red Wings). Ta. In the same situation, it's once again Holmstrom who gets the first chance at the role alongside Barzal and Horvat.
“I think you need a guy with some speed to play with Bo and Barzee,” Patrick Roy said Tuesday morning. “And we need guys who can make plays. So whoever we put there, we're going to feel comfortable, but I think Simon is a player that we can feel comfortable with. [good in] That place. I'm interested to see how he does. ”
Holmstrom has shown improvement on the third line since the beginning of this season, a unit that Roy was excited about with his performance before Duclair went down.
But much of it was in areas suited to a bottom-six role. Holmstrom played more physical hockey, was solid defensively, and showed good chemistry with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee.
He didn't shoot the puck more, he actually shot the puck less, recording only one 5-on-5 shot on goal in the first five games of the season.
If this setup (which also saw Casey Cizikas jump to Holmstrom's former third-line position and Liam Foudy called up to play on the fourth line) is going to work, that's going to have to change. .
“I don't think it necessarily changes our thinking,” Barzal told the Post. “We still want to play hard and win and we still want to play the right way. [Holmstrom] and Dukey, they both have good skills and Homer can shoot the puck. ”
Of course, since Holmstrom was called up, the Islanders have said that across the board about his shooting, but it rarely played out that way.
Here's a chance for Swedes to change that and change their own narrative along the way.
“I think we're going to try to stay with the puck, try to get open, try to create space,” Holmstrom told reporters Monday. “Still play my game. Just be the option that's there.”
If Holmstrom is on the ice with Barzal and Horvat, there is an ironclad guarantee that he will have a chance to score.
That's what they do. Duclair's top line has created 33 scoring chances in five games, but Barzal said Tuesday they “haven't broken out in games yet.”
“I thought the quality of play was good,” said Barzal, whose three points this season have all come on the power play or five-on-six. “I think I've been playing pretty good hockey. But it's just that it's not as easy to get the puck into the back of the net as it is sometimes. … And when Duke goes down, it sucks. Guys, step up. I have to.”
The question is what Holmstrom will do with those opportunities and how patient Roy will be if things don't work out right away.
“Things can turn around very quickly,” Roy said. “That's the start of the game, we'll see how it goes. … Casey can be on any line and I know he'll do his job. Same with Simon. That's how we play the game. I’m going to start and see how it goes.”
