Islanders denied comeback victory as Canadiens score late winner in Patrick Roy's return to Montreal
The Canadiens' Cole Caufield scores against Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov as the Islanders' Samuel Bolduc defends during the first period of an NHL game Thursday in Montreal. Credit: The Canadian Press via AP/Graham Hughes
MONTREAL — Patrick Roy didn’t want his first game back at Bell Centre as Islanders coach to be about him. Other than a stirring moment during the Canadian national anthem, it wasn’t.
It was about the Islanders coming back from an early three-goal deficit to tie before losing to the Canadiens, 4-3, on Thursday night. And Brendan Gallagher’s predatory hit on Adam Pelech that drew a match penalty and may have left the defenseman with another head injury.
“They came out hot,” said Bo Horvat, who scored one of the Islanders’ three power-play goals and hit the left post with 13 seconds remaining and goalie Semyon Varlamov off for an extra skater. “I didn’t think our first was that bad. Penalties killed us. We just stuck to our game. We’ve got to figure out ways to get those games. That one stings.”
Sean Monahan’s second goal, at 17:48 of the third period after Pierre Engvall fumbled the puck along the wall, proved to be the winner. A turnover by Engvall with the teams skating four-on-four also led to Cole Caulfield’s first-period goal, which made it 2-0, and Monahan pushed it to a three-goal edge on the power play at 12:19.
The Islanders (20-17-11), who have lost two straight after Roy won his debut, scored twice on their five-minute power play after Gallagher lifted his elbow to Pelech’s head in the neutral zone at 11:52 of the third period. Mathew Barzal (14:52) and Kyle Palmieri (16:28) lifted them into a 3-3 tie.
“There’s a reason why he got five minutes. That’s all I can say because I missed it,” Anders Lee said. “You don’t want to see anybody go down like that.”
“I’m not aware about his injury history,” Roy said of Pelech. “We all saw what happened. I’m sure the league is going to review the hit.”
Varlamov made 22 saves in his first start since Jan. 2 as he missed time with a lower-body injury. Samuel Montembeault made 43 saves for the Canadiens (20-21-7), who went 2-for-5 on the power play as they snapped a three-game losing streak.
Roy’s name was not announced as the Islanders’ coach after the starting lineup was presented to the crowd. But as Cherylyn Toca began to sing the Canadian national anthem, the scoreboard began showing a montage of photos from Roy’s playing career with Le Blue-blanc-rouge. The crowd began roaring in appreciation, getting louder as the camera fixated on Roy’s retired jersey hanging from the ceiling.
Finally, the camera showed Roy standing on the Islanders’ bench and the crowd got even louder. Eventually, he was moved to give a slight wave before starting to give directions to his players.
It was the first time Roy, who replaced the fired Lane Lambert on Saturday, stood on the visitor’s bench at Bell Centre since Nov. 14, 2015, when his Avalanche beat the Canadiens, 6-1.
“I’d like to thank the Montreal Canadiens for that,” Roy said. “It was real nice of them, what they did. This is a good crowd, it’s like in New York. Good fans and they love their team.
“I didn’t know what to expect, honestly. I never look at the clock, but I got caught looking at it and I saw something. But you just want to be focused. I said all along, it’s not about me, it’s about our team.”
Roy’s image features prominently in a nearly three-story “Generations of Greatness” mural unveiled in 2021 that adorns one of the arena’s outside walls. His No. 33 hangs from the rafters.
He spent his first 10-plus NHL seasons with the Canadiens, leading them to the Cup as a rookie in 1986 and again in 1993 before an in-game falling-out with coach Mario Tremblay led to his trade to the Avalanche. He won two more Cups with Colorado before retiring in 2003.
“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to come away with the win for the team and for him,” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “It’s frustrating for sure. If we continue to play and put efforts like we did last game and for the majority of tonight’s game, we’re going to get results. The gods are going to test you and see how you respond.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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