Islanders coach Patrick Roy pushes for the playoffs and evaluates for the future
Islanders head Ccoach Patrick Roy speaks to the media during practice at MetLife Stadium on Thursday. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Yes, Patrick Roy knows he was brought in by Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello with a mandate to do everything possible to make the playoffs this season.
He and his players are laser-focused on that and know that Sunday afternoon’s Stadium Series game against the Rangers at MetLife Stadium represents another crucial two points in their increasingly desperate playoff push.
But as Roy puts his team through four straight days of practice after their losing streak grew to two with Tuesday night’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Kraken at UBS Arena, the new coach almost certainly also is testing to see which players he can truly trust and who are going to be his guys in the long run.
Make no mistake, Roy’s real test as a coach will come next season. Not making the playoffs this season will stick to Lamoriello and the players, not him.
Roy is trying to lay the foundation for what he wants to achieve with the Islanders. He is talking about upping their compete level and changing — reverting, really — the team’s identity to that of a harder-working group.
Roy, who has made it clear that he has “zero” interest in management after being involved with the Avalanche in his first stop as an NHL coach, still will have input this offseason as to which players best fit the identity he wants.
He’s pushing this group to try to jump back into a playoff position. He’s also evaluating for the long term.
“I understand,” Roy said after another fundamentals-heavy practice on Friday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow in which he repeatedly stopped drills to make corrections. “Breaking habits, it takes time to bring it to new habits. It’s probably a lot easier when you get a group [that hasn’t been together a long time]. But a group that’s been there for so long and had those habits, I’m not saying it was right or wrong what was before me, I’m just saying it’s a different approach. It’s a different mentality.”
Roy wants the defensemen to skate more with the puck. He wants simpler plays at the blue line to get the puck deep and establish a forecheck.
Players instinctively know a new coach will evaluate what he has.
But they can’t worry about that right now, not with two points on the line on Sunday and only 28 more times after that this season.
“As players, you’re just trying to bring the best version of yourself in the moment,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said. “That’s going to dictate what transpires in the future is what you do today.”
Barzal skates. Leading scorer Mathew Barzal returned to practice after missing the last two days for maintenance. He is expected to play on Sunday. “Honestly, I think he feels great,” Roy said. “I thought it was smart to give him the proper rest and take advantage of the schedule. Not skating the last two days was probably the best thing for him to be fresh.”
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.
