Fasching Fitting In With Islanders

Part of the reason Hudson Fasching has fit in with the Islanders during his recall over the past month, is that he can fit in anywhere.
Versatility is a feature of Fasching's game and the 27-year-old has played up and down the Islanders lineup since making his debut on Dec. 4.
"Something I've been doing a lot in Bridgeport is being the utility guy there," Fasching said. "I've gone up and down the lineup, in and out of both special teams, so that's part of my game. I feel like I've tried to play a balanced game on both ends of the ice and show you my ability to play on both lines."

When Fasching was first inserted into the lineup on Dec. 4, his straight line forechecking made him a more than sensible replacement for Cal Clutterbuck on the Islanders Identity Line in a 3-0 win over Chicago.
Fast forward to Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Fasching showed he could also mesh with two of the Islanders more skilled and cerebral players in Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey. Fasching picked up an assist in the game, firing a quick shot that Barzal tipped past Tristan Jarry. He briefly had a second assist, initially being credited with a helper on Barzal's second goal, though the scorekeepers determined a pinballing puck off two Penguins negated assists for he and Bailey.

"In training camp and when he's come up with us, he's looked really good," Bailey said. "He's stepped in and filled roles with guys being out and he's done a great job. He's a great guy to go along with it to, so he has been a welcomed addition."
On Thursday, Fasching found himself with different linemates yet again, skating on the right wing with JG Pageau and Zach Parise. The result was another assist, as Fasching made a power move to the net off a drop pass from Pageau, who eventually cleaned up Fasching's rebound.
"He's playing his role, he's going up and down the lineup] and he's a big guy who gets to the net," Head Coach Lane Lambert said on Tuesday. "He's doing what he needs to do and doing what we asked him to help our hockey team and has done a good job."
***[7 FACTS: HUDSON FASCHING*
Fasching has four points (2G, 2A) in his 10 games with the Islanders this season, a career-high in a career that's included small sporadic spurts of NHL action and a lot of time - 298 games to be exact - in the American Hockey League.
When he would be recalled, either by the Buffalo Sabres or the Arizona Coyotes, he found his game to be off balance. On the one hand, he was heeding coach's instructions to chip pucks in and keep the game simple, but not necessarily utilizing the skill that made him an offensive producer at the University of Minnesota.
"I've always been a player who follows a coach's instructions pretty diligently and I think it took it almost a little too far," Fasching said. "I think that something that I've tried to focus on and tried to just play my game and try to make the right plays as I read them."

Fasching flashed his skill in the Islanders' 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, curling around Alex Pietrangelo, cutting across the crease and beating Logan Thompson five-hole. That was his second goal of the season and the third of his career, but after waiting six years between his first and second NHL goals, 11 days between goals two and three was a breeze.
Currently, Fasching is riding a two-game point streak, which is a first in his NHL career. Earlier in his recall, he talked about the challenges of finding comfortability as a callup, but appears to be playing with confidence, no matter where he's being slotted into the lineup.
"You just have to kind of relax," Fasching said. "The biggest thing is just to not take everything too seriously. Part of it is just maturing and growing as a person and a player, you start to grow up you start to realize you just have to let things happen."