Let’s pay tribute to Patrick Roy.
He doesn’t leave much room for interpretation.
The Islanders’ aggressive decision in the second half of Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Lightning, benching Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, manipulating the forward line and forcing the goalie with seven minutes left Despite the pull, the Islanders head coach was undaunted. words.
“Sometimes you just have to, I’m sorry to say this, but you put the ball on the table and you have to do that,” Roy said. “And that’s what we did.”
Trailing 3-2, the Islanders used rapid-fire moves to get within the hoop, but Luke Glendening’s empty-netter with 30 seconds remaining ended any hopes of a comeback.
In the final period, Roy lined up three of the Isles’ top scoring forwards, Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Matthew Barzal.
He also co-starred Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri with Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Pierre Engvall and Simon Holmstrom with Casey Cizikas.
“There was a degree of urgency,” he said. “It was an important game, let’s not joke. We played one or two games against them. It was an important game. I wanted to win that game.
“So, as a coach, sometimes you have to make a decision. I made that decision.”
Casey Cizikas, who missed Thursday’s game against St. Louis with what appeared to be a hand injury, returned when the team returned to New York with a better-than-expected prognosis.
Roy said Samuel Bolduc’s conditioning stint with AHL Bridgeport was meant to boost the defenseman’s confidence, having been out of the lineup since the All-Star break.
“He’s there for a short period of time,” Roy said. “We just want him to get his confidence back. When he comes [back up] He will feel better. That’s all we want. ”
