When the New York Islanders lost Mathew Barzal to a long-term lower-body injury, general manager Lou Lamoriello acquired speedster Pierre Engvall from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Engvall averaged a tad over 13 minutes per night on a stacked Toronto team, lighting the lamp 12 times in 56 games with eight assists.
His speed was what Lamoriello loved about him.
"Pierre is a very versatile player. He'll bring a dimension that he can play any one of the forward positions, and probably his biggest asset is his skating ability," Lamoriello said back on Feb. 28. "He's got a long reach, being six-foot-five, 220 lbs."
Engvall's first game with New York came alongside Bo Horvat and Anders Lee against the Detroit Red Wings, a 4-1 win, on March 4.
The 26-year-old forward logged 17:26 minutes, registering two shots.
However, his minutes were cut significantly in the Islanders next game, a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Engvall sat on the bench for the final 15:01 minutes of action, playing just 12:24.
“He’s new here. It’s a different adjustment,” Lambert said. “There’s an adjustment to systems and things like that. He’s fine. He’ll be fine.
In the next game, a dramatic third-period comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lambert sat Engvall for a total of 32:06 minutes, playing just 8:23.
"You know what, we're doing pretty good here," Lambert said following the win over Pittsburgh. "Pierre, you know, he's new, he's coming in, and he's going to be a big part of our hockey team.
“We went with guys that were a little bit more used to what we were doing and will continue to work with that, and Pierre will be fine. So, I wouldn't look too deeply into it."
Engvall scored his first goal for New York in a 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on a new line, with Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck playing 13:24.
He then scored for a second-straight game in a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, playing 15:30. Towards the end of that game, Lambert jumbled his lines, placing Engvall with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri.
A day later, when the Islanders faced off against the Anaheim Ducks, Lambert kept that threesome, and they popped off in a 6-3 win.
He not only scored a goal for a third-straight game, but notched an assist as he was flying out there in his 15:58 minutes of action.
"His speed, I thought, complements Brock," Lambert said on placing Engvall on that line. "I thought Brock was skating exceptional tonight. You can see it right from the very beginning, and Pierre is certainly a guy who can complement that."
Palmieri, who came over at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline, knew exactly what Engvall had been going through.
"He’s a good player. Since he’s come over, I think you look, and you saw bits and pieces and flashes of his speed, and how well he protects the puck and, when he gets in open areas, he knows how to finish,” Palmieri said. “But I think he’s settling in and kind of getting to know the system.
“It’s a little different now, how we play and how much structure we play with, so it takes some getting used to it. I went through it a couple of years ago, and it’s not easy just kind of jump right into it. And obviously, this time of year, we don’t have a ton of practices either, so he’s been playing well, and hopefully, we just keep it going.”
Since that Ducks game, those three have been together.
Over the four games since, Engvall may only have one goal, the Islanders opening tally against the New Jersey Devils on Monday night, but he's been dynamic for his linemates.
Palmieri has four goals and two assists, while Nelson has two goals and an assist.
Stefen Rosner and Sean Cuthbert spoke with Islanders radio broadcaster Chris King about Engvall and his line back on Sunday night for the latest edition of Hockey Night in New York:
Following Monday's 5-1 win, we caught up with Pierre Engvall to discuss how he's settled into the lineup.
"I've been feeling good," Engvall said. "I gotta thank my teammates, you know, taking care of me and helping me a lot on off days."
During his postgame media availability, Lambert addressed what led to Engvall's success.
"I just think that he's understanding how we play, I guess, as opposed to his former team," Lambert said. "There's some differences, and so instead of maybe having to think, it's more reactionary now for him, and that's when he's at his best because he has that speed."
As for what the biggest differences were that he needed to get accustomed to:
"We just play a little bit more of a defensive-style game where we try to be as responsible as possible. There's always little, little changes and little things, whether it be things off a face-off, how we cover off face-offs, things like that.
"They're just very subtle little things that have to be figured out as he goes along."
For however long Mathew Barzal remains out, Pierre Engvall brings a critical element that New York needs as they try to hold down a wild-card spot with seven games left.
For as much heat as Lane Lambert has received this season, the first-year head coach was smart in handling Engvall, who is finding his stride with his new team at the perfect time.