Should Oliver Wahlstrom Be Playing On the Top Line?

New York Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz has decided not to play Oliver Wahlstrom on the first line during 5-on-5 hockey, but he choses to play Wahlstrom on the teams’ first power play unit. Many fans believe his points and play is deserving of a top line spot, so let’s determine if thats true.

Wahlstrom has registered a point in 15 out of his 27 games this season with 7 of those on a power play. This means about half of Wahlstrom’s points come from when he is playing with the top guys such as Barzal and Lee. Wahlstrom also played on the first line for the majority of the first quarter of the season, where he registered the most points. So, if Wahlstrom produces so much when he is on the first line, why is Trotz keeping him out of it?

There is not a more deserving guy on the team to take that spot, and with the Islanders current scoring troubles, a first line Wahlstrom seems like the right move to me.