Islanders forward Mathew Barzal believes Roy is getting this team ready to play championship-caliber hockey.
Islanders forward Mathew Barzal believes Roy is getting this team ready to play championship-caliber hockey.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders are a different team under new head coach Patrick Roy.
There is accountability. There is a family aspect here now that was missing under former head coach Lane Lambert.
There's an added adrenaline, an added understanding of how important the littlest of details impact the outcome of games.
Sure, the Islanders are 1-2-0 through three games under Roy, but their game looks significantly better.
At Saturday's morning skate, Roy didn't allow line rushes to run smoothly because he didn't like enough of what he was seeing.
For 20 minutes, Roy would let a line do their thing before whistling to stop the drill and point out exactly what he had to see before letting them go again.
The Islanders' top line was stopped five times to start the skate before Roy said "perfect" before fist-bumping Islanders captain Anders Lee.
"He's bringing energy and passion and a belief in what he has," Lee said. "We're just making those changes and adjustments, but I think, obviously, his enthusiasm is infectious."
After the skate, as we have become accustomed to under Roy, the team huddles together at center ice, putting their hands together before chanting something.
We're getting back to doing the little things, and it's fun to change it up, but that family unit is very important to us and this team and very important to Patrick and his messaging. So, just trying to continue and build on that."
For Islanders All-Star and face of the franchise Mat Barzal, he appreciates everything that Roy is doing, from the intensity to the wisdom.
"Just look at our game," Barzal said. "Wins and losses are one thing, but then, on a daily basis, we're building a blueprint that is going to allow us to become champions.
"And that's really what it is. And I feel like there's a lot of trust in this room with that blueprint and that it is going to allow us to be champions one day, so that's the biggest thing, just the blueprint right now, and yeah, I like where we are headed."
Barzal believes that even though they've dropped the last two games, falling to Vegas 3-2 on Tuesday and then 4-3 in Montreal on Thursday, they played well enough to secure two points.
"I think our last two games, we really felt like we probably deserved it, and outplayed the other team," Barzal said. "So we're confident, and we're building towards something right now. Whether we win the next 30 games or it goes the other way. we're building something in this room and a culture.
"I feel it's shifting, and I like the way it's headed."