CHICAGO — Hudson Fasching’s game is almost tailor-made for a bottom-six role.
He gets north.
He retrieves pucks.
He forechecks.
He’s pesky.
He plays in a straight line.
It’s a role that’s allowed Fasching to carve out a place on the Islanders’ roster and in their lineup over the past 13 months.
And now that the team’s forward lines look different with Pierre Engvall and Casey Cizikas hurt, it’s a role from which Fasching may need to deviate a bit.
For four of the past five games, including Friday night against the Blackhawks, Fasching has played up on the second line with Brock Nelson.
That might be the case for a little bit of time since neither Cizikas nor Engvall have resumed skating on their own.
“I try to maintain my own identify throughout the game, but yeah it’s a different style,” Fasching told The Post after the Islanders skated Friday morning at the United Center. “A lot more [offensive] zone draws, a lot more creativity. [Nelson’s] just really fast, too. I’m learning that as I go.
“Trying to find spots where he’s gonna be and find good lanes to try to help him and try to help [Kyle Palmieri]. Try to get our line contributing.”
Over 27:54 together this season heading into Friday, Fasching, Nelson and Palmieri had been on the ice for three goals against and just one goal for at five-on-five.
The silver lining, however, was that their expected goals rate sat at 68.97 percent with an 8-5 high-danger chance margin.
Ahead of Friday, Nelson had gone four straight games without a point, tying his longest streak of the season.
Combined with cold streaks for Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, that is a five-alarm fire for an Islanders team whose offense has suddenly gone cold.
It’s a small sample size, but the numbers point to the second line’s play having been better than the results.
The Islanders, losers of three straight prior to Friday, need to hope that is the case.
“I think Fasch plays a simple, effective game,” Nelson said. “He’s able to hang onto some pucks. He’s strong on pucks. So for us, getting some turnovers off of that, hopefully generate some more possession time off of that. I think just try to support him, be in good spots. I don’t think he has to change his game.
“He’s effective at what he does when he’s playing hard and simple.”
Coach Lane Lambert also said he wants Fasching to keep doing what he’s been doing.
“I think that would be a mistake for him,” Lambert said. “He’s a player who plays a certain way. We want him to play a certain way, and I think that can benefit both Brock and Palms.”
The adjustment for Fasching then will come less in changing how he plays and more in what different situations than he’s used to being in will demand of him.
Engvall, remember, was in a bottom-six role for most of his time with the Maple Leafs.
He is not an especially gifted scorer, but the Islanders turned him into a key part of their second line by leveraging his speed and ability to transition the puck — allowing him to complement Nelson.
They can now survive his absence by doing something similar with Fasching.
“I try to just stay flexible with it,” Fasching said. “I’m starting to acclimate a little bit better to knowing where [Nelson’s] going to be. Neutral zone regroups and things like that where we had a couple things that were just off by a couple feet the other game [in Winnipeg]. It kind of affects the game flow, it gets a little choppier. I think we’re in a better spot now.”
Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook
Original Source
