The Islanders will have to spend the offseason making a lot of reflections and changes regarding their roster, and there are at least some questions regarding their front office. But for the first time since 2021, there is no question about the head coaching position.
Patrick Roy, who was in charge of 42 games, resembles that man. The play of Lou Lamoriello, who brought Roy to Long Island from a Florida golf course in mid-January, likely saved the Islanders from missing out on the playoffs entirely, and his presence behind the bench No matter what the franchise is, it’s a reason to remain hopeful for 2024-25. I’ll do it this offseason.
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour was asked before Game 1 of the series between Carolina and the Islanders whether the team’s opponents would look different under Roy than Lane Lambert.
“Yes, in my opinion,” he said. Then he stifled a laugh, which said more than his words. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Under Coach Roy, the Islanders posted a .608 scoring percentage, were the fourth-best team in the East through all 82 games, and would have clinched a playoff berth much earlier than last. Thanks to the new manager’s organizational overhaul, the 5-on-5 team has gone from being a bottom-tier defensive team to being in the top third of the league.
When Roy walked in the door, the Islanders were scoring 48.9 percent of their goals at 5-on-5. In his 37 regular season games, the team shot 54.23 percent from the field, which was better than Colorado, Carolina and Las Vegas all season.
Instead of sitting back in the defensive zone and absorbing pressure, as he did under Lambert, Roy focused on attacking the puck and having two defenders match up with one offensive player to get the ball back. A man-hybrid system was introduced. The Islanders also played more offensive hockey in the neutral zone, with their forwards pressing up and protecting the blue line.
Although the Islanders never fully adopted the puck possession style Roy wanted them to play offensively, the impact was immediate and lasting. The Islanders were 30th in the league in this category when Roy took over, but the Islanders allowed fewer than 10 dangerous chances per game under Roy. At this pace, he would have been in the top five in the league.
They became much better at keeping teams away from midfield and held more leads as a result, but Roy’s influence went far beyond statistics.
The Islanders’ locker room was far too laid back under Lambert. Roy addressed this issue in his mid-February training camp 2.0, which served as a back-to-yes moment for the team and helped increase the intensity of his runs down the stretch.
After Lambert barely touched the field all year, his experimentation with lineups also proved helpful, and the Islanders finally hit the right combination in early April, narrowly making the playoffs. I arrived on time. Roy’s faith in Kyle MacLean, who plays every night, and Semyon Varlamov, who carries the team in net, also proved to be in place.
It wasn’t exactly a perfect run for Roy. Bryn Amour had the upper hand in the first round coaches showdown, but Roy’s biggest decision of the series (going to Sorokin in Game 3) backfired. The Islanders’ special teams haven’t improved much, if at all, since he took over, and the penalty kill in particular needs a dramatic overhaul. Offensively, the split between Roy and Lambert for the Islanders was close, even though Roy had a slightly higher 5-on-5 shooting percentage.
The Islanders hope a full training camp with an offseason to create a better fit for Roy’s system can improve some of these issues.
But for now, if they’re looking for a reason to be optimistic after a disappointing season, it’s behind the bench.
