Roy explains his decision-making after the Wahlstrom penalty.
Roy explains his decision-making after the Wahlstrom penalty.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- On Monday night, New York Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom got another look after general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Patrick Roy shared that the young forward would get an opportunity to play after riding twine for most of the season.
Wahlstrom had shown well against the Florida Panthers before the All-Star break and earned a chance to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In that game, Wahlstrom took positive strides, making the simple play, getting shots on target and just looked more comfortable.
But with the Islanders up 2-1, Wahlstrom made a mistake, taking an interference penalty with 5:40 to play in the third period.
The Maple Leafs were able to tie things up on the power play, as Wahlstrom's mistake came back to bite him.
Under former head coaches Barry Trotz and Lane Lambert, Wahlstrom wouldn't have seen the ice for the remainder of the game.
Roy chose to throw him right back out there and shared Thursday morning why he made that decision.
"It's just a matter of trust," Roy said. "I make some mistakes as a player, and I always had a chance, so I love to give our guys a chance to be back in the game. I mean, there's nothing worse for a player than if he makes a mistake, he's sat. I mean, then the next shift, he's holding the stick, and it's tougher and tougher.
"I am a believer in second chances and giving them the opportunity to show, and I think that when you're making a mistake, you want to make sure you got that back. And actually, the shift one or two shifts after, he had the same situation, and he threw the puck back.
Roy is big on one-on-one meetings with the players and said this was the focal point of his chat with Wahlstrom.
"I did this yesterday when we did his one-on-one game together," Roy said. "I show him, look at the difference and look at this. So I mean, He will always just need to understand that sometimes you need to move the puck quicker. That's all. Holding onto the puck between the hash marks and, let's say, almost the blue line, this is a critical area.
"If you lose the puck there, it's a very good recipe for turnovers and could create odd-man rush against, so I want him to be very good in that area, making sure that he makes the right decisions and we call that managing the puck the proper way."
Wahlstrom will be back in the lineup for a third straight game, skating alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter & Facebook.