The challenge ahead of Patrick Roy over the next week is almost entirely unique.
Not only is Roy trying to change the very system and philosophy the Islanders play, he's doing so during a period in which the Islanders will continue to play every other day until the All-Star break begins on Sunday.
That means on a day like Monday, when it would normally be crucial for the Islanders to be on the ice for practice, given last week's long travel, Roy focused on video and the team's family This means that I was able to spend time with them.
Come February, there will be even more room for practice time, as the Islanders will only play four games in the first 17 days of the month.
But now, games are coming as fast and furious as change.
“I have a different approach, a different way of playing the game,” Roy said Tuesday before the Isles' matchup with Las Vegas. “I think the players are buying into that. I was just trying to take it a little bit at the beginning, and then the second quickly, and I taught that on the first day. We have made further additions.”
Roy has so far focused on what he calls a second quick, adding extra support in the defensive zone to force turnovers and cleaning up his team's breakouts. . Big changes are coming to the store as well.
Roy wants the Islanders, who generate much of their offense from the rush and rank last in the league in puck possession, to get on the cycle and possess the puck more often.
He also wants them to cut down on turnovers, citing multiple times that they allowed 17 shots off turnovers in their 3-2 win over Dallas in their first game.
The islands' defensive zones, which have been structurally deficient year-round, will not be what they used to be.
“He wants us to move,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau told the Post. “I think the D wants to get on the rush in the neutral zone and get them moving. Let's skate with that puck. If there's no play, come back and keep the puck. Give up fewer shots, or If we can all get on the same page to slim down, I think we can make a lot of progress. We have the puck, so we can take shots.”
Circumstances aren't the only thing making this a big adjustment. It's the fact that Roy is the organization's first new coach since Barry Trotz.
Lane Lambert made some adjustments to Trotz's system, particularly allowing defensemen to get on the ice more freely, but the longtime Trotz lieutenant said he's based on a similar blueprint. I was working there.
Roy has a very unique impression on the islanders.
“I think we’re just trying to create,” Noah Dobson told the Post. “Getting more stops in the D zone, pinning guys down, making play stops allows us to take the puck out and move it to the O zone. I think we spent too much time on that. That's an area we have to continue to improve on. That's definitely something he was talking about.”
Due to the nature of this process, Islanders cannot solve everything overnight.
During Roy's first game against Dallas, the Isles at times looked like they had no idea where they were.
Both Roy and the players said they started to see things getting better as the game progressed. But it was still far from perfect.
And the schedule is not doing the Islanders any favors. It is essential for them to make the most of the practice time they get.
“Especially when you have a limited number of practices, you have to practice like you're playing a game,” Roy said. “So we want to make sure every detail is perfect.
“Like I said today, we don’t want them to like the coaching staff because we let them do what they want. Because I believe it will make the team better. And that's what I want.”
