ELMONT, NY -- Down 6-1 with 12:06 to play in the period, New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy decided he wanted to get his starter, Marcus Hogberg, out of this game. 

Entering the game in Hogberg's place was 22-year-old Tristan Lennox, who had only played in four AHL games since returning from a long-term knee injury. He was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Thursday morning with Ilya Sorokin out with a lower-body injury. 

While Roy was trying to do right by Hogberg, he realized very quickly that he had made a mistake. 

After Lennox allowed a five-hole goal off a 2-on-1 rush, his second shot against in 4:43 minutes of action, Roy decided against his previous decision, pulling Lennox and putting Hogberg back in:

“After the sixth goal, I wanted to give a break to Marcus [Högberg], mentally more than anything else,” Roy said. “And I put Lennox in. When I saw the first goal...it’s on me. 

“Maybe I should have kept [Högberg in]. The kid didn’t have a chance to practice. I thought that was unfair to him, to put him out there like this. That’s why I put Marcus back in. Didn’t want to expose him and put him in a tough spot. The chances we were giving, they were two-on-ones and three-on-twos. I didn’t think it was fair for the first game."

Roy shared that he will talk with Lennox on Friday. 

“I’m sure he’s gonna understand the situation. It’s hard,” Roy said. “He played yesterday in Bridgeport and drove here and had the morning skate and put him in a situation like this. I’ll take responsibility for that. Might not have been my best decision.” 

MSG analyst Thomas Hickey felt horrible for Lennox:

Hopefully, whether it's over the final four games or at some point down the road, Lennox gets another NHL chance. 

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