New York Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom had his best game of the season on Saturday night in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here's what he and head coach Lane Lambert had to say postgame.

COLUMBUS -- It had been a slow start to the season for Oliver Wahlstrom since getting back into the New York Islanders lineup last Saturday. 

In an effort to try and get up to game speed following his season-ending ACL injury last December, he wasn't earning extra minutes from head coach Lane Lambert after sitting the first three games of the young campaign. 

Saturday night was different for Wahlstrom in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

The offense wasn't there, with one shot on seven attempts (four blocked), but he made a difference in other ways, which was more critical in terms of his development. 

In a new season high, logging 13:51 minutes, the 23-year-old skated hard, getting in on the forecheck seemingly every shift while making the smart plays in all three zones. 

His ability to get pucks out of the Islanders zone and help the transition game was the key standout, as he seems to finally be back up to NHL speed. 

He laid two hits and didn't turn the puck over. 

"Just moving around. I think that's the most important thing," Wahlstrom told The Hockey News. "Felt pretty good. I was excited to play and just build from there."

Wahlstrom wants to be a goal scorer for this team, but he knows that he needs to do the little things to help the Islanders win like he did Saturday.

"Yeah, very positive. Obviously, I'm feeling good," Wahlstrom said. "I love scoring goals. That's what makes me excited, but today, I did the right things. I got to build [off that], relax, and have some fun."

Lambert has rarely used Wahlstrom late in games, outside of what we would call "garbage time," but against Columbus, the young forward took two shifts in the final six minutes, the first coming while the scoreboard still read 1-0.

"It's pretty key, [getting] a little bit more minutes," Wahlstrom said. "You're more in the game, and things happen, pucks bouncing, legs are going, so I'd say it was good."

Wahlstrom did get elevated from the third-line right-wing position to the top line alongside Bo Horvat and Anders Lee.

Lambert said postgame that he was trying to spark Horvat's line, which had a quiet start to the game, and added that Wahlstrom did provide that spark.

Wahlstrom did have a prime chance to score on the 2-on-1 with Horvat, but his release was too slow, something he noted on postgame. 

"It was good [playing with them]. I mean, I had a really slow release there on his pass, but that's what I'm going to work on tomorrow and go from there," Wahlstrom said. " But for me, those gotta be goals. I mean, for me to get the puck in that area, I mean, it's a 70 percent chance.

"I gotta get it off quicker, but it's great pass."

Again, Wahlstrom isn't 100 percent up to NHL speed yet, but he said he's right there.

"I don't really think I'm that far off," Wahlstrom said. "Honestly. I'm right there. And I'm ready to go. Each game's a learning game for me, and I'm 100% ready to go."

Here's what Lambert had to say about Wahlstrom's game.

"It's good because he's getting some reps, I guess, so to speak, or maybe some consistency, getting some starts," Lambert said. "I thought he played really good. I thought he added an element of physicality for us. I thought his defensive play was responsible. I thought he had a couple of good chances.

"Just hit the net on those chances, and we'll be golden."

When a player gets minutes late in close games, that means the coach trusts the player, and The Hockey News asked Lambert if Wahlstrom was earning more trust.

"I think so. Based on where we were at, it was a tough game, and we needed everybody, and I thought he did a good job."