The word energy has been tossed around the New York Islanders' room for most of the season, especially as of late with the magnitude of each passing game. After the latest loss, a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers, head coach Patrick Roy was brutally honest.
The word energy has been tossed around the New York Islanders' room for most of the season, especially lately, with the magnitude of each passing game and the lack of results.
Head coach Patrick Roy was brutally honest after the latest loss, a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers.
"I'll say this. I saw a team that played better than us today. The Rangers managed the puck much better than what we did. They're very fast in transition. I thought they had more energy than us for some reason."
The "for some reason" is the concerning part because the Rangers are safely in a playoff spot, sitting atop the Metropolitan Division, while the Islanders are the one that should be fighting for their lives.
It's the Islanders that should be giving it their all a point out of a playoff spot and they're not, collectively.
"We definitely didn't have enough pushback," Bo Horvat, who scored the Islanders' two goals, said. "We did have a couple of chances [in the third], but at this stage of the season, we need to have a lot better push than that if we want to beat those guys."
"The crazy part here is that we know what we can do when we're on. I mean, we've beaten some really good teams this year and played some really good hockey, and right now, we're in a little bit of a lull that can't happen. We have to figure it out here soon, or else we're going to be in trouble."
Roy was hired on Jan. 20 to bring new energy to a group that had become stale under former head coach Lane Lambert.
The Islanders bought in immediately and matched Roy's energy, but lately, they've failed to do that, which has to be frustrating for the new head coach.
Because when the Islanders play Roy's system and bring that energy, they are a tough team to beat.
"It's up to us in this room to rally behind each other because we know what we're capable of, Horvat said. "It's just a matter of going out there and doing it."
Roy was one of the most energized players the NHL has ever seen, maybe too energized at times.
He brought that fire in his first NHL coaching stint with the Colorado Avalanche, and after years in juniors, he learned to control himself a bit more.
But that competitive nature doesn't go away, and Elliotte Friedman on the '32 Thoughts' Podcast thinks Roy is ready to snap.
"You can see Roy blowing up here," Friedman said. "The thing about Roy is, in big games, he was at his best. Part of the thing that Roy is saying is he doesn't understand how, in a big game like this, players couldn't be at their best.
"I wonder what Roy is going to do here because he's not a guy to stand pat. I was shocked watching them on the weekend. I was really shocked. "
Friedman went on to say that Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy, with his team struggling, sat Nick Hague and Zach Whitecloud.
There are roster decisions that Roy can make, even if their depth isn't even close to Vegas':
Hudson Fasching can come in for Matt Martin.
Robert Bortuzzo can come in for Sebastian Aho.
The question is, do either of these potential moves allow the Islanders to get back to the game we saw during their six-game winning streak?
It's interesting to see the argument about the Islanders standing pat at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline and how that, somehow, is the reason for the Islanders' latest troubles.
Sure, a speedy player like Anthony Duclair of a depth defenseman like a Chad Ruhwedel could have helped, but at the end of the day, it's about the players already on the island and getting the most out of them.
It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to lose because of effort or energy, which should never be the case.
The Islanders were kept together because they showed general manager Lou Lamoriello ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, just how good they can be when they play like a true team.
But if they aren't going to give it their all for Roy and aren't going to play for one another, that's the sign of a team that needs significant changes within the room, something the organization has been hesitant to do for a few years now.