Could Engvall stick on the Islanders' top line?
Could Engvall stick on the Islanders' top line?
ELMONT, NY -- Head coach Patrick Roy has kept the New York Islanders lines pretty much the same since he came aboard.
But Roy altered his top six in the third period of their 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon.
Pierre Engvall skated with Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal for 3:36, while Anders Lee joined Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri for 1:54.
Lee has played with Nelson rather often over the years, with Palmieri as well, so having using that threesome wasn't anything we hadn't seen before.
In a rather small sample size, that "new" second line owned a Corsi For percentage of 66.67, with no shots but two scoring chances.
The new top line was flying.
When that threesome was on the ice, they owned a CF percentage of 88.89, outshooting the Flames 2-0 with three scoring chances.
Advanced statistics courtesy of NaturalStatrick.com.
"There's things that I'm wanting to try at times," Roy said postgame. "I thought that adding Engvall with Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal added a little more speed to that line. I thought that'd be a good thing. And I think Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson have been clicking very well, so it doesn't really matter. I mean, Anders is a good fit for them as well.
"I was trying to get goals."
The Hockey News asked Roy how he thought his new-look top line showed in their limited minutes outside of the analytics.
"In the moments they had, I thought they had some good buzz," Roy said. "And I mean, they were holding the puck in the offensive zone. Maybe it's something that we might give a shot at.
"We'll see how it goes."
Fans have longed for Engvall to be slotted alongside Horvat and Barzal once the second line had gone a tad stale.
While being a fast line is certainly something you want from a top line in the NHL, the question was how Engvall's game -- a transition game -- would be able to gel with Barzal's transition game.
Only one person can have the puck on their stick at the time, and Barzal is the best transitioner on the team.
But Engvall was effective up there, finding his area of the ice, getting below the goal line, and doing his best to get pucks to his new linemates.
The one issue with Engvall's game is that he doesn't provide much of a physical presence.
Being physical in the corners is critical for that line to be effective, which is where Lee came into play.
But if Engvall can use his long reach rather than his body to win those battles -- and crash the net -- that line has the potential to be a relatively strong one.
We'll see if Roy keeps that threesome together when the Islanders return on the practice ice Monday before their Tuesday showdown with the Seattle Kraken.