Everyone is amped for Patrick Roy's return to Montreal.
Everyone is amped for Patrick Roy's return to Montreal.
MONTREAL -- Thursday night’s matchup between the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens will be a special night for the visitors’ new bench boss. Patrick Roy will return to Montreal, a place he called home for 12 seasons as one of the best goaltenders in NHL history.
Following their loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, Roy began looking forward to returning to his old home. “It’s always special going there,” Roy said. “They retired my jersey, I had 10 great years there, three Stanley Cup Finals, two Stanley Cups, I mean, yeah, it is special going there.”
When Roy took over as bench boss on Saturday, Thursday’s game was immediately circled on the calendar by members of both teams.
“It’s always a great atmosphere there,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “It’s a great road game to play. It’s always a fun city to go in and play an NHL hockey game against the Canadiens, and obviously, there’s a Hall of Fame player on their team who’s coming back as a coach. It's exciting for him.”
Shortly after the Roy hiring was made official, Islanders’ forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau said the excitement was palpable.
“I got a lot of texts from friends back home. He’s a model back home. I’m sure everywhere he goes, he gets a red carpet; everyone gets the red carpet out for him, but I was excited.”
Members of the Canadiens were asked about Roy’s return on Wednesday, and the hosts of Thursday’s game anticipate a warm response.
When asked about the potential atmosphere for the game, Montreal’s head coach Martin St. Louis said, “Regular Bell Centre atmosphere, but is it going to be up a notch because of Patrick coming back? My guess is yes." (H/t Priyanta Emrith).
Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki agreed with St. Louis’ expectations.
“I’m sure it’s gonna be pretty exciting. I’m sure the fans will give him a big ovation," Suzuki said. "Obviously, he did a lot for the franchise. He’s a legend here in Montreal, so I think the crowd’s definitely gonna be into it.”
With an emotional night on the horizon, Roy is trying his best not to make the game a distraction. The Islanders skated on Wednesday morning and will largely keep things quiet before they take the ice at Bell Centre.
“I don’t want it to be about me, I want it to be about the Islanders. We’re going there to win a hockey game. We’re not going there to win for the coach; it’s for our team, and that’s the reason why I don’t want us to go to that morning skate,” Roy said.
You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.