January 23, 2024 | 5:09pm ET
By Anthony LaRocco, TheFourthPeriod.com
CAN ROY LEAD THE ISLANDERS TO THE PLAYOFFS?
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy
NEW YORK, NY — Saturday afternoon, Lou Lamoriello made the change that a lot of Islanders fans had been clamoring for since November.
The Islanders’ General Manager announced Lane Lambert had been relieved of his coaching duties with the club and named Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy as the team’s new Head Coach. The news sent shock waves across Long Island and the hockey world as the always so secretive Lamoriello made the move without much of a hint, even though some could say that this move felt inevitable.
After finding themselves tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division back on January 5th, the Islanders slid down the standings after going 1-5 in the subsequent six games. In that span, the Islanders suffered a crushing loss to Nashville Predators in the final seconds of regulation, an embarrassing loss to the Minnesota Wild and another loss to the league-leading Winnipeg Jets the next night.
While this move was likely in the works prior, the straw that may of finally broke the camel’s back was losing to one of the league’s worst teams in the Chicago Blackhawks, minus Connor Bedard. While the Islanders managed to get a point out of the game after being down 3-1 it was all Lamoriello had to see, pulling the trigger the next day.
Enter Patrick Roy.
Roy had been coaching in the QMJHL as head coach of the Quebec Ramparts since 2018-19 and had last coached in the NHL during the 2015-16 season for the Colorado Avalanche. During the three seasons he coached Colorado, Roy posted a win-loss record of 130-92 and qualified for the playoffs once in that time.
Now, Roy is tasked with the challenge to get the Islanders into the playoffs. After Sunday’s 3-2 OT win over the Dallas Stars with Bo Horvat’s winner, the Islanders sit two points out of both wildcard spots, behind Atlantic Division foes the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite the recent struggles the Islanders also only trail the Carolina Hurricanes by four points for third in the Metro.
The first area of concern for Roy to address if he is to turn this team around is on the defensive side of puck. Despite getting the win over Dallas last night, the Islanders allowed 43 shots on goal, which is something that has happened all too often this season. Aside from the San Jose Sharks, the Islanders have allowed the most shots per game.
To further point out their defensive struggles, NHL Network’s Mike Kelly pointed out where the Islanders rank in other defensive metrics, and it is not pretty. The team ranks 32nd in the NHL in Shot attempts, Rush chances, Rebound Chances and Expected Goals. The Islanders also rank 31st in Slot passes against and rank 29th in Cycle chances. None of that is sustainable if the Islanders want to be playing hockey in the post-season.
In Roy’s first post-game press conference after last night’s win Roy said: “Quite honestly, the thing that I would really love to see us cutting down is the shots on net because we gave up 42 shots again tonight and we I feel like we rely a little too much on our goaltender but unfortunately 17 of them came from turnovers.”
That has been the story of the season so far as Ilya Sorokin has been under siege facing 1,174 shots on goal. With Roy being a former goalie, it is likely he will make sure the team makes Sorokin’s life easier in goal.
On the offensive side of things, Roy is inheriting a team that is led by Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat, Noah Dobson and Brock Nelson, offensively. While that foursome has carried the load for the Islanders this season, the team is still towards the bottom of the league in goals per game at 24th in the NHL. Roy will be tasked on trying to get more out of forwards Anders Lee, Pierre Engvall and J-G Pageau to help with the team’s secondary scoring.
It will be interesting to see if Roy gives forward Oliver Wahlstrom more consistent playing time. The Portland, ME native has only dressed in 22 games this season under Lane Lambert, recording just a mere five points. If Roy cannot get some more scoring out of the lineup it is certainly possible that Lamoriello will look to add at, or prior to the NHL Trade Deadline that is now just roughly six weeks away.
In the meantime, firing Lambert and bringing in Roy is the jolt that Lamoriello believed the team needed. In the introductory press conference on Saturday, Lamoriello stated that Roy was the only candidate that he had interest in. We’ll see in the next couple of weeks if the move to bring in Roy moves the needle for the Islanders.