Oliver Wahlstrom decided in the penalty shootout, but it was another Swede who was happiest on the ice when the Islanders defeated New Jersey: Sebastian Aho, who made his first NHL game in three years. – It just felt good, it was great fun, he says.
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New York Islanders Sebastian Aho (number 25) on the NHL ice for the first time in several years.
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Despite eleven straight games without a loss in regular time and eight straight wins, the New York Islanders got anything but a perfect recharge against New Jersey, but which led to Sebastian Aho with just a minute’s notice slipping into the ice.
– It was a little different. I warmed up on the ice as usual, as I have done in recent matches, and then I went off and took off my equipment and just when I did, they said I would play, says Aho at the press conference after the match.
– So then it was just to put everything on again and go out on the ice.
The background is called like so much else this year covid-19. Just hours before the drop, center Jean-Gabriel Pageau had to be removed from the squad after being at risk of infection. And during the hour before the match, the hill Noah Dobson was also ironed for the same reason.
– With Dobson, it was really at the last minute. He warmed up and it happened just before the national anthem was to be played. We had to remove him and Sebastian had to jump in. It was well done by the NHL and we had to adapt, all teams can do that, says coach Barry Trotz.
Sebastian Aho, who has been with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL since 2018, did not even get nervous before it was time to play, and describes the match as great fun.
– I have not played hockey in a year so it was a bit odd. I did some good things, and some less good ones. But it just felt good, it was great fun.
How has he kept his motivation up?
– These are days like this, to think about them. We all always want to play but not everyone gets a place on the ice all the time. I’m just trying to be ready when the chance comes and it did tonight.
The victory itself was, to quote Trotz, “not beautiful” and Oliver Wahlstrom’s decisive penalty to 3-2 was close to not getting rid of.
New Jersey looked in the long run to win when PK Subban got the puck into the net. But the Islanders protested and a video review showed that Jesper Bratt had been offside seconds before.
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