The Patrick Roy era is off to a promising start with plenty of optimism for the team and the fanbase for the rest of the season. He was hired on Jan. 20 and in his first game behind the bench on Jan. 21, led the New York Islanders to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars, one of the best teams in the Western Conference. One game in, the Islanders look noticeably different on the ice, with more structure defensively and a disciplined approach to the game.
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On Tuesday, the Islanders will have a much bigger test. They host the Vegas Golden Knights, the defending Stanley Cup champions with the second-best record in the Pacific Division with a 27-14-6 record. The Golden Knights, led by head coach Bruce Cassidy, are the team that the Islanders want to become under Roy. They have been a juggernaut in the Western Conference and one of the best teams in the NHL in recent seasons and their style of play makes them admirable for any coach.
Golden Knights Win With Defense
The Golden Knights are coming off a loss where they allowed six goals to fall in overtime to the New Jersey Devils, making it seem like they have issues on the defensive end of the ice. That couldn’t be further from the truth. They are led by their defense with Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, and Brayden McNabb leading the way. The Golden Knights allow only 2.65 goals per game; last season, they only allowed 2.74 goals per game, proving they are consistently a strong defensive team.
They play gap-sound and disciplined while having a unit that can move the puck up the ice. While the Golden Knights don’t overwhelm opponents at the point, they make a difference with effective shots on the net. More importantly, the defense can step up against the best offenses and eliminate them, something the hockey world saw firsthand in the 2023 second round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers averaged 3.96 goals per game during the regular season but scored 3.16 goals per game in the series with only five goals in the final two games, allowing the Golden Knights to advance in six games.
The Islanders under Roy are looking to become a balanced team. They allow 3.33 goals per game but by keeping the puck away from the net and limiting easy scoring chances things will improve. On top of that, they look to remain potent on the offensive end of the ice with the unit helping out at the blue line. Noah Dobson has 41 assists in 46 games played and an 80-assist season isn’t out of reach for the young two-way player. Roy won’t want to limit his firepower on the offensive end but he will look to have him play a safer brand of hockey which will leave the Islanders better off.
Roy Looks To Add Versatility
Under Lane Lambert, the Islanders had a roster consisting of too many “one-trick ponies” or players who were great at a specific thing and not much else. Anders Lee was a finisher who couldn’t create scoring chances while Mathew Barzal was a passer who struggled to find the back of the net. Some of that can be blamed on general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello for building a roster with that issue but the team played with the inability to adapt and adjust to the opposition.
The Golden Knights are the opposite under Cassidy. They can win in multiple ways and defeat any opponent on their schedule. There are times when they win with speed as they gash teams on the rush and turn defense into instant offense and in some games, they slow down the pace to churn out victories. Likewise, the Golden Knights proved they could win high-scoring games but when needed, defeat teams in goaltending or defensive battles and it helped propel them in their playoff run last season.
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The Islanders can add that with Roy largely because that’s what made his teams successful in the past. Specifically, when he coached the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), he adjusted the team to the opposition. While it would take Roy a period or a few shifts, he’d eventually set up the Remparts for success and it resulted in a Memorial Cup title in 2023. The Islanders adding this element to their game will make them Stanley Cup contenders and capable of defeating any team in the NHL.
Cassidy Made The Golden Knights Cup Champions
During the playoffs, the situational awareness of the roster stood out. The Golden Knights’ skaters knew the task at hand in every situation, shift, and moment. It gave them an edge and it helped them win the Stanley Cup. The rest of the league is searching for a roster that can play that way in the playoffs and the Islanders are the next team to attempt to find a coach who can lead them in that regard with the Roy hiring.
The goaltending also stood out but for Cassidy’s squad, it was for a different reason than many Cup champions. The Golden Knights went with the hot hand as they started the playoffs with Laurent Brossoit as their starter but once Adin Hill took over in Game 3 of the second round, he never looked back. Hill wasn’t Cassidy’s primary goaltender during the 2022-23 season, playing in only 27 games but he couldn’t bench a goaltender who was dominant in the net.
The Islanders won’t copy the Golden Knights in the net if they make the playoffs. However, if there’s anyone who knows how to manage a star goaltender like Ilya Sorokin, it’s Roy, one of the best to ever play the position. He’ll know when Sorokin needs a night off and how to prepare the star for the playoffs. He won four Stanley Cup titles as a goaltender and his experience can both help the goaltending and the roster as a whole.
The first week has been all optimism for the Islanders as a new era has begun. The Golden Knights will be a true measuring stick opponent as they will see if Roy’s impact is here to stay or if it’s destined to wear off as the team regresses to the mean.
