With an impressive performance Friday night, Julien Gauthier has ended the New York Islanders third-line controversy.
With an impressive performance Friday night, Julien Gauthier has ended the New York Islanders third-line controversy.
ELMONT, NY -- Following the Christmas break, New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert decided to sit Julien Gauthier for Oliver Wahlstrom.
Wahlstrom had played against the Washington Capitals the week prior, filling in for an injured Gauthier, who took a stick to the eye in the 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers two nights prior.
The 23-year-old forward showed well in his 11:39 of ice time, doing the little things to help create chances in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals.
But back to the scratch house Wahlstrom went once Gauthier returned against the Carolina Hurricanes, as the message seemed clear.
Gauthier was the starter. Wahlstrom was the extra...or so it seemed.
So, it was a head-scratcher when Lambert elected to go with Wahlstrom right out of the break, especially after a 5-4 win against the Hurricanes.
The decision to go back to Wahlstrom wasn't the reason the Islanders got crushed by the Penguins 7-0, a true team failure, but he also didn't help the cause.
"As far as Wahlstrom goes, he was like everybody else," Lambert said Thursday morning. "I didn't really give anybody a high mark last night."
The rest of the lineup got a chance to bounce back against the Capitals on Friday night, but not Wahlstrom, as Gauthier slotted back in.
This is the NHL. If you get an opportunity, you better make the most of it because, in an instant, an opportunity may no longer be yours.
That's precisely what Gauthier did in his team-low 9:48 TOI.
The Islanders' forward had a three-point night, including two goals in 18 seconds, helping the Islanders to a 5-1 victory over the Caps.
Gauthier's performance was part of an impressive showing by the Islanders' third line alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom.
Pageau tallied bookend goals for the Islanders' offense, with Gauthier assisting on the first and Holmstrom helping on the second. Pageau added two assists of his own on both of Gauthier's tallies as well.
"It was fun to see our line get going like that," Gauthier said after the game. "I thought we got rewarded, a lot of games we were playing really well, it just wouldn't really go in."
Gauthier also played a crucial role in setting up the Islanders' first goal of the night.
After forcing a turnover in their zone, Gauthier took the puck up ice on the right wing side. After getting inside the Washington end, he passed to Alex Romanov in the high slot, who sauced a pass to Pageau for a one-time shot, giving New York the lead.
"He's a big guy that asks a lot of questions, where to go on draws, but you see that he's committed and he wants to do the job. I'm happy for him that he was able to get the two goals tonight, I think it'll be very good for his confidence."
The first of Gauthier's two goals was a right-place, right-time play. After a Pageau drive, he took a shot on Capitals' goaltender Darcy Kuemper. After the initial save, the rebound came right out to Gauthier in the slot, who made no mistake to make it a 3-0 lead for New York.
Just 18 seconds later, Pageau and Gauthier were sprung on a 2-on-1 by Samuel Bolduc.
Pageau crossed to Gauthier, who went in alone of Kuemper and buried it underneath his right pad, giving the Islanders a 4-0 lead.
According to NHL PR, Gauthier is the eighth player in Islanders' history to score a pair of goals less than 20 seconds apart and the first since Alexei Yashin, who accomplished the feat against the Chicago Blackhawks on Mar. 25, 2003, with two red lights in 18 seconds.
While Friday was Gauthier's top performance of the season, it has continued a pattern of the Islanders' finding success with him on the ice.
New York is 9-4-3 with him in the lineup and 4-1-1 when he records at least one point.
While his stat line of four goals and four assists may not light the world on fire, Lambert acknowledges what the forward brings to the Islanders.
"He's been in the lineup for a lot of wins. He's just using his speed and his size, and he's putting together a little string of goals and assists," Lambert said. "It's just size and speed and just playing his game. It's nothing more than that. Just go up and down and try and create opportunities that way."
Even when Gauthier isn't scoring, he's making a difference, and that's why there should no longer be a third-line controversy.
"I think that line plays well, for the most part, together," Lambert said postgame on his decision to swap Wahlstrom for Gauthier. "And so, getting him back in there and seeing what he could do with his speed and size against a bigger opponent [was the reason].
How much of a difference has Gauthier really made for Pageau and Holmstrom?
According to NaturalStatrick.com, when Wahlstrom is with those two at 5-on-5 (44:48), the Islanders have been outscored 5-0.
With Gauthier on that line, (80:43), the Islanders have outscored their opponents 4-3, with three of their four goals coming off No. 16's stick.
After inking a two-year contract worth $1.575 million this summer, Gauthier came into training camp on a mission and did all the right things to earn a starting job.
But, with how deep the Islanders offense was, the 26-year-old found himself on the outside looking in, waiting three games before getting a chance for an opportunity.
Gauthier heard his name called just twice through the first 13 games of the season. However, his hard work started to pay off as he became a regular before November came to a close.
From Nov. 25 to Dec. 19, 11 games, Gauthier was in the lineup before that injury against Edmonton forced him to miss the Capitals game.
While his play did dip over his final few games before the break, Gauthier's response Friday night and how he elevated his linemates makes him the clear-cut third-line right winger going forward, as long as he continues to help the Islanders win games.
And that's the thing for Gauthier.
Gauthier has bounced around through his previous four years in the NHL because of a lack of consistency.
With just sixteen games under his belt (four goals, four assists) in blue and orange, that's a really small sample size.
Last year, Hudson Fasching earned an opportunity to stay in the lineup, but even after his impact through 49 games in 2022-23, it wasn't a guarantee that he would be a starter once the 2023-24 rolled around.
But even after winning a starting job, it was about continued success, and Fasching struggled, leading to him losing his role for a bit before regaining it as this season has progressed.
If Gauthier struggles over the next few games, Wahlstrom could very well find himself back in the lineup, and then the ball is in No. 26's court until he gives Lambert a reason to make a switch.
Matthew Page contributed to this report.
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 at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.