The New York Islanders are 8-0-0 when scoring first under Patrick Roy. Here's what they've been able to have success.
BUFFALO, NY -- Before Patrick Roy took over, the New York Islanders struggled mightily when they had the lead.
Under second-year head coach Lane Lambert, the Islanders scored first in 25 games, earning points in 22 of them.
On the surface, that's pretty remarkable.
However, diving below the surface, the Islanders had only won 13 of those 25 games, losing three in regulation and nine in overtime.
Missing that ability -- an ability we saw under former head coach Barry Trotz-- to lock down leads is why the Islanders aren't solidified in a playoff spot with 18 games to go.
But you can't erase the past. All you can do is move forward, and since Roy came aboard, coaching his first game on Jan. 21, the Islanders are 8-0-0 when scoring first.
"When we're we are up a goal, it's easier for us, especially lately, playing with a lead. It wasn't at the beginning of the year when we were giving up leads, so we have been working on it," Islanders Bo Horvat said. And we've been getting better as the year has gone on. You just got to keep that going."
"I think we've been doing a lot better job of when we get down, to not panic too much, stick with the process and not deviate from the plan."
Roy has preached that a bad shift doesn't have to become a bad period or a bad game and you are seeing the Islanders really embody that as of late.
"I think it's just a belief in here, in our system, in our plan when we are up a goal and not changing how we play the game," Horvat said. "I think we kind of got away from that in the beginning of the year.
"We'd either sit back too much or make those little mistakes that cost us games, and lately, we have just been sticking to our game plan for a full 60 minutes, and that's what we got to continue to do down the stretch here if we want to make the playoffs."
You've seen, especially over this latest stretch of games, going 6-1-0 in their last seven, that this group is playing more like a team.
Yes, they are getting scoring from up and down this new-look lineup, but what allows a team to play the right way with a lead has a lot to do with Roy holding players accountable.
"I think that's the biggest thing," Casey Cizikas said. "He wants us to succeed as a group. He wants us to play well and play hard, and the first thing he did when he got here was hold guys accountable for not holding up their end of the bargain.
"I think guys have bought into what his mindset is and how he sees the game, and we're playing some good hockey right now."
As for how Roy has held the group accountable.
"That's between us and him," Cizikas said.
The Hockey News asked Roy why accountability is so important, especially when playing with a lead. He chose to use the Sabres as an example.
"You'll see Buffalo tonight. I mean, their defense is up on every rush, and that's a big part of the game. Pretty much every team has a defense. are very active. They're all involved," Roy said. "So, it demands our forwards to be very cautious of that and making sure that they covered the defense when they're going in so it's that's what we call team concept."
Roy was asked what the message was to the guys when they had earned the lead.
"We just talked about our mindset and scoring goals or giving goals. We don't want to change," Roy said. "We want to continue to play it the same way. And I think that's what's been our success."
In the first half of the season, when the Islanders had the lead, we saw a shift in mindset, a shift in the way they tried to hold the lead down.
At times, we even saw personnel changes that backfired.
"I believe in today's game, there's one way to play. We don't want to sit. We want to continue to create some offense and go spend more time in the offensive zone," Roy said. "We try to improve our O-zone possession, and I know we could improve even more. It's been better, but it's not exactly 100 percent where we want it to be, and it's being more patient with the puck and looking for better options and better looks and trying to have teams staying less in our zone.
"I think if we were capable of doing that, we'd continue to have more success, but no, it's not the right idea to sit on a lead."
With 18 games to go, the Islanders need all the points they can get to help create some separation between them and the rest of the teams fighting for a playoff spot.
Scoring first remains critical and even if the lead goes away, continuing the play the right way to get it back and get the two points.