It took a while, but Hudson Fasching finally making impression with Isles
Hudson Fasching of the Islanders plays the puck against the Maple Leafs at UBS Arena on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It would be an understatement to say that what Hudson Fasching is doing this season is uncommon. It is almost unheard of for a player who has been around as long as he has.
“I’ve seen guys come up and down and up and down [from the minor leagues] before they establish themselves,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said before Saturday’s game against the Sabres at UBS Arena. “But maybe not to the same degree that Hudson is, at his age.”
Fasching is 27, and before this season he had totaled 38 games, one goal and two assists in parts of five NHL seasons with the Sabres and Coyotes.
He played far more games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans and Tucson Roadrunners than he did with their big-league parent teams in those years.
This season he has played in 41 games for the Islanders and entered Saturday with seven goals and eight assists.
That includes an assist on a sweet setup of a goal by Zach Parise on Friday night in Columbus.
Asked about that pass to Parise, Lambert said, “He has skill. What it shows me, he has the confidence to make plays. And that's been one of the nice things about him.
“There's a line between making plays and getting pucks in deep. I think he's balanced that pretty well. But the ability to make that play is a key for me.”
Fasching turns 28 in July, but he appears to be finally hitting his stride as a pro.
“It just goes to show that it's never too late, and you just keep doing the right things,” Lambert said.
Notes & quotes: Lambert said Mathew Barzal, (presumed knee injury) has not yet started skating with the team and there is no timetable for his return. “There's a vague idea of where it can be, but as far as I'm concerned, I just wait and see,” Lambert said. “When he's available, he's available, and when he's skating, he’s skating.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
