Here's what Islanders captain Anders Lee had to say about his group after a 2-0-0 start following the 2024 NHL All-Star break.
Here's what Islanders captain Anders Lee had to say about his group after a 2-0-0 start following the 2024 NHL All-Star break.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders have undergone changes over the last month.
From seeing Lane Lambert get axed to having Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Roy come in with a brand-new style in the middle of the season, the Islanders have had to learn on the fly.
In their first week under Roy, the Islanders went 1-2-1, but despite the lack of winning and the failure to make up ground in the playoff race, the locker room mindset was overly positive.
After coming back from the All-Star break, the Islanders are 2-0-0, playing the best hockey we have seen from them this season.
The Hockey News caught up with Islanders captain Anders Lee after Friday's practice to get a read on just how proud he is of his team.
"It's who we are, really," Lee told THN. "I mean, we've always come to the rink every day, trying to get better. We weren't, unfortunately, making the strides that we wanted to and that we were setting out to do.
"Obviously, since Patrick's come in, I think you've seen a difference. But that speaks to him and what he's brought into this. The guys are picking things up and sticking together and playing the way that we need to play. So it's a combination of a lot of things, but as you've seen, it's Patrick on down."
A lot of Islanders, along with Roy, have discussed getting back to that true family feeling, working as a team with everything they do.
That starts with everyone being on the same page.
"Everyone is buying in and putting the right foot forward, playing for the team," Lee said. "It's not that it wasn't like that before. That was never the case. But it's just the importance of that down the stretch. It's where we need to be."
Roy's practices are like no other. The motivational screaming, the constant whistles, and the collective chats to float ideas have quite frankly been a revelation for a group whose practices and games seemed to have gone stale toward the end of Lambert's tenure.
"It' 's an engaging practice. We have a lot to learn," Lee said. "Some ideas are the same, but some are different. So, guys are thinking certain ways, and it's not wrong. It's just different. So it's great that he has that opportunity to blow us down."
After the Islanders face the Calgary Flames on Saturday and the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, they won't play again until they hit the great outdoors to battle the New York Rangers at MetLife Stadium.
Practice time is usually hard to come by, but given the Islanders' schedule, they need to use every practice under Roy to their advantage,
"They're huge, and you don't get a lot of practice time and a lot of times practices. Just a great opportunity to work on so many little things, let alone just feel good with the puck. So that's nice down the stretch."