Patrick Roy Has Brought Joy To Islanders Country, But The 3-2 Loss To Vegas Shows You Can't Win 'Em All

Here's Stan Fischler's thoughts on the Islanders 3-2 loss to Vegas.

Nobody who loves life and the New York Islanders wanted it to stop. It's called "The Roy Effect."

Patrick Roy has brought joy to the Orange and Blue flag wavers just by being the Prince of Puck-Stopping. He's also been a tonic to his troops.

But, alas, the Islanders don't play in a vacuum, and last night at UBS Arena, they faced the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, and the Visitors triumphed -- but just barely -- 3-2.

Alas, the Isles third period rally was valiant but not victorious but it left Monsieur Roy happier about his team's performance than when they won his opener in overtime. Just think about it, the Islanders generated 42 shots -- a season-high -- at Knights goalie Adin Hill.

"I was pleased with our focus, our effort, and our resilience," said Roy, alluding to Jean-Gabriel Pageau's shorthanded third-period goal that closed the gap to 3-2. "But sometimes the hockey gods are not on your side."

Face it, folks, your Isles are, in a sense, taking two courses from Professor Roy -- Hockey 101 and Hockey 102.

The second one has to do -- among other things -- with trimming shots on goal against Ilya Sorokin who made his tenth straight start. The first with turnovers.

"I don't want us giving up 40 shots a night," the mentor mentioned. 

Following through on the lesson, his skaters limited the Champs to 27 shots. Unfortunately, three of them went in, and that was the old ball game.

Nobody -- including the effervescent coach -- expected all flaws to disappear within two games. Still to be worked on is the turnover bugaboo. 

On Vegas' first goal, Sebastian Aho and Adam Pelech were the culprits, and on the winning goal, it was Noah Dobson who otherwise contributed with his 42nd assist.

Regarding the turnovers, the skipper was most understanding. "The guys are young and learning. I am very positive, and the players should feel positive. Sometimes the puck just doesn't go in."

Ironically, our heroes played better in losing than they did in winning in Roy's debut. What matters -- apart from winning -- is that St. Patrick appreciates the fact that his messages are getting through to the lads.

Roy: "There's been a great progression for our guys. If we keep progressing like this, we'll win a lot of games."

For sure, the captain was impressed.

"We played extremely hard and executed a lot of things we've been talking about," said Anders Lee. "Really, it was just a matter of getting that extra puck in the net.”

He can blame Knights goalie Hill for that. Having returned from injury, the Stanley Cup hero was at the top of his game, but he couldn't stop our Big Guy From Minnesota.

Brock Nelson's first Isles' goal of the game marked his 500th career point as well as being his team-leading 21st red light. 

"It was a good play by (Alex) Romanov and Dobson," Nelson noted, "giving us zone time."

So, what does this all mean now that the Islanders are well-conced in the season's second half?

The good news is, as advertised, Roy has brought a new blend of vigor and smarts to what was a fading hockey club.

The challenge will be for his stick handlers to win while learning.

Tomorrow night they'll be in Patrick's old, happy hunting grounds —Montreal. 

Put it this way, another effort like the one against the Cup-holders should -- as Roy puts it -- "win a lot of games!"