The reason Dufour takes the leap is because this might be the season he’s ready for the NHL. The Lee connection, which Lambert moved on from halfway through last season, makes sense since the two formed a dynamic pairing at the end of the 2021-22 season as they carried the offense. Instead, he has Anders Lee playing alongside him and two skaters without a track record of finding the back of the net, William Dufour and Hudson Fasching. The top line makes Nelson’s line a headscratcher especially since he doesn’t have Kyle Palmieri and Pierre Engvall on his wings. Oliver Wahlstrom, New York Islanders ( Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers) This season, he not only gets to play on the top line but will find plenty of open shots playing on the same line as Barzal, the team’s best playmaker, and Horvat, another dynamic shooter in the middle of the offense. In his career, his average ice time is a mere 12:04, and last season it was only 12:10 before he was hurt. He’s played all over the forward unit in his young career but has rarely been provided the opportunity to play alongside elite skaters and in a big role as well. The first noticeable difference in these lines is Wahlstrom playing on the top line. Left Wing Center Right Wing Oliver Wahlstrom Bo Horvat Mathew Barzal Anders Lee Brock Nelson William Dufour / Hudson Fasching Pierre Engvall Jean-Gabriel Pageau Kyle Palmieri Matt Martin Casey Cizikas Hudson Fasching / Cal Clutterbuck The other issue is how the Islanders will adapt their fourth line, which is starting to age and needs younger skaters to take on bigger roles. The first is what the top six will look like, specifically, who can optimize Horvat, Nelson, and Mathew Barzal’s skill sets. There are two burning questions regarding the Islanders’ forward unit.
Mike Fink: Identity Change & Top Six Chemistry So, let’s look at what some of the unique combinations could look like.
The players remain the same however, the line combinations can change if Lambert chooses to be creative with hopes of optimizing some of the skater’s skill sets. Left Side Defenseman Right Side Defenseman Adam Pelech Ryan Pulock Alexander Romanov Noah Dobson Sebastian Aho Scott Mayfield The defense meanwhile will field the same six skaters. He’s played in only 161 games in his career and last season was cut short due to an injury, making him the X factor of the forward unit. The only unique addition is Oliver Wahlstrom, who has been on the team for the past three seasons but only in a small sample size. Left Wing Center Right Wing Anders Lee Bo Horvat Matthew Barzal Pierre Engvall Brock Nelson Kyle Palmieri Hudson Fasching Jean-Gabriel Pageau Oliver Wahlstrom Matt Martin Casey Cizikas Cal Clutterbuck It leaves the lineup looking all too familiar. The expectation is that Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson will lead the top-six lines while Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas will center the third and fourth lines respectively. Otherwise, the Islanders look like they will churn out a lineup that the fans have grown accustomed to. Additionally, Zach Parise has yet to announce his return to the Islanders and similarly hasn’t announced his retirement, making his status unknown ahead of the upcoming season. Josh Bailey, who was a healthy scratch down the stretch last season was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, a move that can be labeled as addition by subtraction. To be fair, there have been minor changes.
Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders players shake hands after Game 6 of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)
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