Simon Holmstrom’s Lethal Shot & Why It’s Time To Fire His Gun
When Holmstrom lets it rip, good things happen. When it doubt, he's got tet that thing fly because, as you saw Tuesday, He has an elite release.
When New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy sat down with his coaching staff to determine the best lineup construction with Jean-Gabriel Pageau returning, there was only one real option as to who was coming out.
It wasn’t an easy decision, per se, because of Maxim Tsyplakov’s stronger play as of late. But with the way the fourth-line flanks were playing and how much Roy loves what he’s seen from Maxim Shabanov, No. 7 was the one to take a seat, with a more complex decision coming whenever Jonathan Drouin (lower back) is ready to return from injury.
“Mathieu and I said this year, it has nothing to do with who you are,” Roy said. “If you’re playing better than a guy, you’re going to be in the lineup.”
While Drouin was slumping, point-wise, at the time of his injury, with just one assist over his last five games and no goals over his last nine, I would have a hard time seeing him not playing when he’s ready to go — there’s no rush with how the team is playing, a positive for sure.
All eyes pan toward Simon Holmstrom.