Patrick Roy was looking to send a message to Pierre Engvall on Tuesday by making the winger a healthy scratch for a third time this season.
Hudson Fasching drew in for the Swede, playing 12:21 in a shambolic 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes at UBS Arena, while Roy said Engvall likley would return to the lineup on Thursday in Detroit.
That seemed to come as a product of Engvall’s timid physical play, which was evident in Sunday’s loss to the Rangers and not for the first time this season.
“I wasn’t too happy about his play lately,” Roy said. “Sometimes it’s something that someone needs. I saw it with other teams. [Sean] Couturier was out, they scratched him in Philly, he’s the captain of their team.
“Pierre seems to understand, we need him. We need him to play a certain way. I know he’s not an overly physical player, but he’s capable of giving us a lot more than what he’s been doing.”
Roy was fixated on average shift length as a reason for the Islanders’ recent struggles following Tuesday’s game, bringing it up in answers to five separate questions during his press conference,…
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