The honeymoon period with a new coach lasts about as long as a team loses.
So while Patrick Roy's honeymoon period ended, at least in that sense, on Tuesday night when the Islanders lost 3-2 to the Golden Knights, Roy's reception scheduled for Thursday in Montreal may signal a resurgence. unknown.
In his two games coaching the Islanders, Roy has seen enough to understand the epitome of the season.
The Islanders won an ugly game on Sunday in which they weren't playing well for the first 40 minutes, but on Tuesday they played well for long stretches but struggled to put the puck in the net and made key mistakes. I lost a match that was watched. You will have to make sacrifices at important times.
The common thread is that it's the same throughout the season. That said, the inconsistency over 60 minutes tends to overshadow the good things the Islanders did that night.
This is the core of Roy's challenge. It's not just about getting the Islanders to understand how he plays.
What Lane Lambert tried and failed to do for 45 games is have them play like that for 60 minutes.
Trailing 3-1 in the third, the Islanders struggled to come from behind to win for the second straight year under Coach Roy.
They couldn't capitalize on back-to-back power-play opportunities early in the third, but after the Islanders took their own penalty, Jean-Gabriel Pageau converted a shorthanded feed from Simon Holmstrom at 9:26. He made the decision and shortened the lead to 3-2. mark.
However, given a third power-play opportunity and a chance to tie the game at the 13:21 mark, the Islanders not only couldn't convert, but Matt Barzal was ejected for stumbling, leaving 32 seconds left on the power play. Disabled seconds.
In the end, this was their last and greatest chance to tie the score, and even a 6-on-5 push in the closing stages failed to tie the score.
What makes this loss even more painful is that the Islanders looked pretty good for much of the night.
They held Las Vegas to fewer than 30 shots, took more than 40 shots in their own half, held the puck for long periods of time, and forced Addin Hill to work.
But after Roy emphasized cutting down on turnovers, the Islanders were unable to do so, which was the crux of this loss.
After Brock Nelson tied the game at one after sustained possession early in the second period, things seemed to be clicking on all cylinders.
But then the mistakes started, and Las Vegas regained the lead at the 7:18 mark of the period when Sheldon Rempal took advantage of Scott Mayfield's interference penalty to score his first NHL goal on the power play.
Then Noah Dobson moved up the middle through the neutral zone and ended up giving Ivan Barbashev the puck to his right.
The result was Nick Roy cleaning up Jonathan Marchessault's rebound, resulting in an extra goal for Las Vegas.
The self-defeating element of this game was present right from the first period, when the Islanders put together a relatively strong 20 minutes of hockey, and then when Adam Pelech sent a pass over the goal that he attempted to clear. , found themselves trailing 1-0 at the break. middle.
This led directly to Ivan Barbashev's opening goal, which was followed by Alex Pietrangelo's shot.
There are two games left between now and the All-Star break, starting with Roy's homecoming Thursday at the Bell Center.
It definitely characterizes one of the best atmospheres the Islanders see all year, and for a new coach who won two Stanley Cups with the Canadiens and has No. 33 in the rafters of his building. It will be an exciting occasion.
Which version of his team will emerge?
That way you'll understand.
