Throughout his first two NHL seasons, Simon Holmstrom used to catch himself overthinking issues on the ice.
In some methods, that got here all the way down to an absence of expertise, with Holmstrom needing to realize confidence and sometimes being instructed to shoot extra usually.
“I feel lots of people undergo that course of a couple of times of their profession,” Holmstrom instructed The Submit earlier than the Islanders’ 2-1 win over the Golden Knights on Tuesday. “Particularly final 12 months, overthinking issues. Now I’m going on the market and play with confidence and play my sport. I feel that’s been the most important half this season.”
Not simply this season, however the previous six weeks specifically.
Holmstrom — who missed some video games with harm over that span — got here into Tuesday with 14 factors in his previous 15 video games courting again to mid-December.
He didn’t have a degree within the Islanders’ win on Tuesday evening.
In 46 video games this season, Holmstrom has scored extra factors than he did in 75 a 12 months in the past, and he seems like a risk to succeed in 20 objectives for the primary time.
The way in which Holmstrom bought again into type immediately coming off the harm additionally stood out in distinction to different Islanders who’ve been harm this season.
He scored in his second sport again and has averaged almost a degree per sport over eight contests since returning.
For an Islanders crew that lacks scoring depth, this was a vital subsequent step for the 23-year-old Swede to make.
“I feel if you play extra, you get extra ice time, you get a pair objectives in and a pair factors, it positively helps,” Holmstrom mentioned. “Simply the boldness stage, I feel, is the most important factor. I feel that’s been the most important cause [for] this season.”
For Holmstrom to finally crack the highest six, he nonetheless wants to claim himself offensively a bit extra — sure, it could nonetheless be good for him to shoot the puck extra usually — however he’s turned himself right into a key a part of the crew’s third line and constructed a robust rapport with Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
“Expertise, that’s all,” coach Patrick Roy mentioned. “I feel he’s studying the league extra. I feel he takes benefit of it. He is aware of the league. Generally it’s simply time. I feel in his case, expertise makes an enormous distinction.”
Ilya Sorokin was again in nets for the Islanders after sitting out Sunday’s sport at Florida and had 33 saves in Tuesday’s win.
Hudson Fasching (higher physique) was on the ice for morning skate, evidently having completed a conditioning stint with AHL Bridgeport.