The New York Islanders snapped their three-game skid last night, beating the Washington Capitals 3-1.
Most notably, Calum Ritchie made his Islanders' debut and played a very steady and impressive game, all while playing over half the game outside his natural position, on the right wing of Mathew Barzal.
Ritchie impressed all, especially his head coach.
"[I thought he was] Outstanding," Islanders' Head Coach Patrick Roy told the media assembled. "I thought he played really well... I was impressed, because he looked like he was pretty calm out there. I mean, you could tell he played some games last year, and played a lot of exhibition games.
"I think Rocky is doing a really good job with the guys down there in Bridgeport. We are playing pretty much the same style. I think it made it easy for him to adapt and play the way he played."
In a game where the Islanders struggled to generate offense, it became clear in the third period, the new alignment for the Islanders' forward group immediately took over control and became the story of the game.
Here's how it looked:
Emil Heineman - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Jonathan Drouin - Calum Ritchie - Kyle Palmieri
Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Simon Holmstrom
Anthony Duclair - Casey Cizikas - Kyle MacLean
The changes helped the Islanders turn control of the game into their favor, ultimately preventing the Capitals from ever finding an equalizer.
"We were not generating much offense," Roy said about the changes. "I thought it was time to try things. Like I said, all year we're going to try things. And it was nice to put Barzy back with Bo and then having Emil with them. And I thought that Richie played really well with Drouin and Palmsy."
Roy also praised the way the bottom six played all game, solidifying the potential changes ahead of Sunday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The tweak opens up an even more lethal Islanders' attack. Barzal teeing up Horvat and Heineman off the rush should make Islanders' fans salivate. Drouin and Ritchie will be able to make a ton of plays together, and with a lethal finisher like Palmieri, it fits even more.
It also makes sense from a player development standpoint, too. Sticking Ritchie, a rookie, between two great veterans with long histories of producing is a perfect way to acclimate him to the NHL.
It helps to have reliability and steadiness when working with a rookie, something the Islanders have already done, sticking Matthew Schaefer with Scott Mayfield for most of the season.
Now, heading into a stretch of three straight home games, Roy can play the matchup game with Ritchie, too. It'll be the most important thing to see whether Ritchie is fully ready for a second-line center role before the team ships out for a seven-game road trip beginning with the New York Rangers.