EDMONTON, Alberta — Two-and-a-half weeks within the midst of an 82-game season usually seems like a lifetime, the narrative already having shifted a technique after which one other amid lower than 10 video games.
Living proof, rewind again there and we had been asking whether or not Simon Holmstrom might step as much as the plate and spell Anthony Duclair on the highest line, which was the largest query across the Islanders.
Not all that a lot time has handed, however the Islanders are actually down 4 extra regulars — together with Mat Barzal, one other piece of the highest line — and Holmstrom has been again within the backside six for the final 5 video games.
And in these 5 video games, the Swede has amassed 5 factors after scoring zero throughout his four-game stint on the highest line, immediately taking part in with the boldness and assertiveness that was manifestly absent when alongside Barzal and Bo Horvat.
Coincidence?
“That I cannot tell,” coach Patrick Roy stated Saturday evening after Holmstrom contributed a aim and help within the Islanders’ 4-3 additional time loss to the Devils. “But I notice that he’s getting more and more confident out there, so I like that. And he scored a really nice goal on that one, but obviously, he’s playing some good hockey for us. … I have a lot of confidence in him.”
The 23-year-old Holmstrom has put collectively such flashes earlier than, most notably the 5 shorthanded targets he scored earlier than the brand new 12 months final season.
However the Islanders wanted their backside six to step up their scoring after Barzal and Duclair went down and it’s Holmstrom who has been a catalyst in doing so.
Within the 4 video games he performed on the highest line, Holmstrom recorded three photographs on aim mixed.
Within the 5 video games since, he’s shot it 9 occasions complete — not a world-beating quantity, however a world of distinction nonetheless.
That has already confirmed important for the Islanders, because it was Holmstrom’s power-play aim which started the rally on Tuesday evening in a shootout win over the Penguins and it was Holmstrom who stored them within the recreation early Saturday by scoring a first-period aim on a slick end round Jacob Markstrom.
“Homer’s goal, it was probably our only forecheck of the first period,” Kyle Palmieri stated.
That plus a later help on Dennis Cholowski’s aim within the third interval wasn’t sufficient to get the Islanders two factors, as they later handed away a 3-1 result in the Devils earlier than dropping in additional time.
However Holmstrom was no small a part of why the Islanders obtained some extent on an evening the place they had been outplayed for a lot of the night.
“He played well,” stated Casey Cizikas, who has centered Holmstrom recently on a trio additionally consisting of Pierre Engvall. “He was strong on the puck. He made some really nice plays, he had a lot of good looks. You can see his confidence growing with every single game he plays here.”
Certainly, whereas the third line’s superior numbers have been underwhelming, the trio has confirmed adept each defensively and in transporting the puck up ice.
The Islanders couldn’t be blamed for wanting a couple of extra possibilities out of them, however Holmstrom has usually pushed these moments after they have come.
With the present ahead strains working effectively — the Islanders took 5 of six factors over their final three video games heading into the marathon five-game journey that begins on Tuesday evening towards the Oilers — there will probably be little temptation to combine issues up or put Holmstrom again within the high six.
That could be all for the higher.
Coincidence or not, he has given the Islanders extra of a spark additional down the lineup. And why mess with an excellent factor?
