Under Patrick Roy, the Islanders don’t win, but they improve

It’s been just over two weeks since Patrick Roy took over as coach of the New York Islanders.

The sample size is small, but one thing is clear: he’s not winning as much as he’d like. In four games, he has a 1-2-1 record.

At least, his three losses have been decided by a single goal. His team may not be winning more than before, but it’s improving. In Le Journal de Québec, Kevin Dubé published an excellent article describing the Islanders’ situation since their new coach took over.

The Islanders have won just one of their four games under Patrick Roy.

Despite this, Roy has remained very positive. With good reason?

The answer is, in part, “yes”. The team has improved several facets of its game, and the numbers back that up.

Details herehttps://t.co/Cxg1UPurtI

– Kevin Dubé (@KDubeJDQ) February 4, 2024

As I just mentioned, the win-loss record isn’t great, so the Islanders are six points behind the Red Wings and the last playoff spot.

Tomorrow, the Islanders travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs and build momentum for the final sprint. The players were on the ice this afternoon in preparation for the showdown.

It was new assistant coach Benoît Desrosiers’ first training session. He first spoke with Scott Mayfield.

New #Isles assistant coach Benoit Desrosiers chatting with Scott Mayfield.

He’ll be working with Houda, per Lamoriello. pic.twitter.com/QjdNRtmU8e

– Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) February 4, 2024

And he gave Bo Horvat some advice on face-offs.

#Isles Bo Horvat picking the brain of new assistant coach Benoit Desrosiers, regarding face-offs: pic.twitter.com/m47ykMpPBe

– Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) February 4, 2024

But hey. Back to the original topic: the Islanders aren’t winning, but they’re improving.

Improving in what way? Dubé showed some stats from Sportslogic and in 13 of those 14 categories, Roy’s men had a nice improvement.

Obviously, the sample size is small and the improvement isn’t always spectacular, but there’s been a nice improvement nonetheless, especially defensively.

After the first meeting with his new coach, Mathew Barzal said that Roy wanted to be more aggressive defensively. After four games, he can say that this aspect of the game has been well understood by his boys. They rank sixth in the NHL in terms of time of possession in the defensive zone.

Although the emphasis is on defensive strategy, it’s the offensive performances that grab my attention. The Quebecer’s team climbed -1, 17, 17, 19, 11, 14 and 6 places respectively in the aforementioned offensive statistics.

This progress is undeniable, but it’s essential to remember that, in the world of hockey, the ultimate goal is to win.

At least Roy has signed a three-year contract and should remain behind the bench for a while yet.

In gusto

– A great cause.

– Please note.

Tomorrow morning the announcement will be made regarding the Olympic Stadium. I’ll be there to ask the right questions pic.twitter.com/VbcExH5RgY

– Jeremy Filosa (@JeremyFilosa) February 4, 2024

– Too bad.