Here's Stan Fischler's thoughts on the Islanders 4-3 loss to the Canadiens.
Here's Stan Fischler's thoughts on the Islanders 4-3 loss to the Canadiens.
Napoleon went too far thinking he could conquer Russia.
Patrick Roy went too far thinking he could conquer Montreal's Canadiens on his gala return visit last night at Bell Centre.
He should have stopped at Plattsburg and called it an evening.
Hospitable, the Canadiens were not. Nasty? Yes, they were, especially The Elbow To The Head Man, Brendan Gallagher, and the Habs Win-Producer Sean Monahan.
St. Patrick was not a conquering hero, and that's said and sad.
Sad because the Habs ruined what otherwise was a rip-roaring Isles comeback from 0-3 to 3-3, only to blow it late in the third on a goal by Monahan.
Bad because the loss has the Islanders going nowhere fast in the playoff sweepstakes.
Adding to the ignominy was yet another injury to Adam Pelech. This time it was a most unclean whack to the defenseman's head by the Habs Gallagher.
It earned Gallagher a match penalty-- for very-not-nice behavior -- and that got the Isles going.
Bo Horvat, Mat Barzal, and Kyle Palmieri scored successive power-play goals to tie the match.
But then Monahan beat Semyon Varlamov from the high slot, leaving Roy & Company without what could have been a most valuable point.
As expected, the Roy return was greeted raucously by the crowd, although Patrick tried to keep a focus on the game.
"I was proud of the way our guys showed resiliency to tie the game," Roy said in his post-game review. "But it was unfortunate how we hurt ourselves on the last (goal) play."
Now the new coach knows firsthand one of the chronic problems he must address; otherwise known as the "Late Third Period Blues" which has dogged this club all season and could cost them a playoff berth. (Good news -- the Flyers lost their fourth straight, and the Devils lost.)
Falling behind three-zip isn't a healthy way to win games, and it took all of Roy's experience to get his club back on track.
"We were tested," St. Patrick explained, "and had to remain focused and know what we had to do."
What they did was capitalize on a most rare match penalty.
Also, give the Isles credit for pouring 46 shots at Habs good goalie, Sam Montembeault produced 43 saves. Unfortunately, Varly had only 22 stops; not enough in these circumstances.
"It was unfortunate that on a night like this that we couldn't win it for Patrick," said Noah Dobson, who assisted on all three Isles goals.
The Islanders host Florida tomorrow night, and if that won't be a challenge for Roy, nothing will.
In effect, the Blue and Orange men are in a double quandary; on the one hand they have to instantly adjust to a new system -- not easy -- and on another they have to WIN games to keep pace in the playoff race!
What we've already learned is that -- as super-good as Patrick is as a coach -- he's not a magician.
Only hard work and smart -- make that very smart -- playing will turn this slump around.
The sooner, the better!