DETROIT — A hint of a smile crossed Pierre Engvall’s face Tuesday night as he was asked whether his mindset had changed since being called back up to the Islanders.
“I’m trying not to think about it too much,” Engvall said. “Every day I’m just trying to do my best and control what you can control. That’s it.”
So, if there was a come-to-Jesus moment in Bridgeport after Engvall was shockingly demoted following a disastrous training camp, he is keeping it to himself.
If the idea is for his play to do the talking, then everyone should like what they’re hearing.
Engvall scored for the third straight game on Tuesday night — just the second time he’s scored in three consecutive games since being traded to the Islanders in March 2023 — and continued to look like one of the team’s most engaged players as the Isles lost, 2-1, to the Flames.
For Engvall, whose competitiveness on a game-by-game level has often looked like a sine wave, that last point is most important.
It’s been just 11 games since he’s been back in the lineup, so nobody is making grand declarations, but his newfound spark has been a pleasant and welcome surprise for the Islanders.
“He’s attacking the net more, and he’s around the net a lot,” coach Patrick Roy said. “He’s a really good skater, and he’s been playing very well for us lately, very well.”
For whole stretches of last season, Engvall appeared reluctant to get into dirty areas or play around the net. None of that has been evident after what GM Lou Lamoriello described as a “wake-up call” when he failed to make the roster out of camp despite being in the second year of a seven-year deal.
Given how the Islanders have been short on bottom-six scoring for much of the year, Engvall suddenly generating some offense — he had 10 goals all last season — is a potential game changer, if he can keep it up.
The 28-year-old Swede is as talented as they come, with a 6-foot-5 frame and high-end skating ability.
It is just a matter of Engvall applying that talent, every shift, every night.
He’s off to a good start.
Alex Lyon will start in net for the Red Wings against the Islanders on Thursday, coach Derek Lalonde told reporters. The Islanders did not practice and have yet to announce a starter in goal.
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