New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy kept it real following their 4-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
BUFFALO, NY -- New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy didn't mince words following their 4-0 shutout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
"I thought we were flat tonight. We didn't play a good game."
Many may be reading that and thinking that the answer was an obvious one. New York was as flat as it has been under Roy, with so many things off in its game.
But one thing Roy has consistently done since coming aboard to coach the Islanders is keeping things as positive as possible during his press conference.
Despite being firey on the bench or conducting rigorous practices, he always found a way to pick out the positives from the game while looking forward.
But not Thursday night.
"We need to be better if we want to win those games on the road, especially in this league," Roy said. "You have to be better than what we did."
Roy was talking about their loss to Buffalo but also their 3-0 shutout loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
The Islanders started their road trip on the right skate, with two beatdowns of weaker opponents, knocking off the San Jose Sharks 7-2 before crushing the Anaheim Ducks 6-1, which improved their winning streak to six games.
But in the last two games, against much better opponents, the Islanders weren't sharp enough, leaving four points on the table with 17 games to go.
"That's the beauty of this league, eh? It makes you humble pretty fast," Roy said. "You're flying high, six in a row. You think you're under control, and boom. You lost two, and now you gotta regroup."
If you are expecting Roy to lose his cool in the media, it's likely not to happen, at least not yet with how well they had been playing.
It's one thing to lose, but the way the Islanders have lost the last two games likely doesn't sit well in the coach's room and definitely not in the locker room.
While all facets of the Islanders game were off, the power play is currently riding an 0-for-9 stretch after going 0-for-4 on Thursday, following an 0-for-5 night on Monday, with 10 total shots.
“I feel like we over-complicated things,” Roy said. “The message before the game was to make things simple and move the puck quickly, but tonight, our legs were not there, and our execution was not there.”
In Roy fashion, he ended his press conference looking ahead rather than looking back.
"It's just a game. Let's be ready for Saturday afternoon at 12:30."
Roy and the players have preached accountability often and Roy put the onus on his players in this latest presser.
The Islanders host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday before battling the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 1 PM.