BUFFALO — Oliver Wahlstrom had been waiting for Saturday for nearly 10 months, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury right after last Christmas.
Finally finding himself back in the Islanders’ lineup does not mean his recovery is through — and after a disappointing 3-1 loss to the Sabres it may not even mean he will stay in the lineup on a nightly basis.
But he was thrilled nonetheless to be back on NHL ice.
“I was super excited,” Wahlstrom said. “It’s been a long road. I can’t thank my family, my sister, girlfriend for taking care of me for those eight months rehabbing. There’s some tough days. But it’s good to be back.”
Wahlstrom replaced Simon Holmstrom in the lineup, skating alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat on the top line and recording 12:16 ice time with a shot on net and three hits.
Hudson Fasching also came out of the lineup, with Julien Gauthier making his Islanders debut — a pair of moves that coach Lane Lambert attributed to wanting fresh bodies on the second night of a back-to-back.
As for the knee, Wahlstrom called the game a “good first step.”
“Obviously there’s some growing pains that come with this,” Wahlstrom said. “I knew that coming in. It’s a little shock, the first two periods and obviously felt good those two periods. And then the third period came, I got a little tired. That’s part of it. I’ve been off for, I don’t know, 10 ½ months, just gotta keep getting into it.”
As much as the knee is an issue, so too is building his lungs and endurance back up to where he can skate at a high intensity without being gassed.
That’s why Wahlstrom has spent so much time on the ice working with skills coaches at practices after the rest of the team has come off.
This is not going to happen overnight for Wahlstrom, and it will not be straightforward.
Saturday, in that light, was something he could be happy with.
“Had a couple opportunities to make some plays and just missed out on the pass,” Lambert said. “I thought he was OK. I thought he played hard. I thought he hit. I thought he had a good first game. Especially since it’s been such a long time.”
After struggling in the preseason with an .857 save percentage over three games, Semyon Varlamov was superb in his first start of the regular season, notching 40 saves.
“He certainly kept us in the game right from the start,” Lambert said.
Lambert said he may continue to rotate players in on back-to-backs as a strategy but, “I wouldn’t marry myself to it.”
Scott Mayfield (leg) did not make the trip to Buffalo.
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