Islanders Beat Stars 3-2 in Overtime EAST MEADOW, NY -- New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/patrick-roy-semyon-varlamov-new-york-islanders-colorado-avalanche] head coach Patrick Roy [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/patrick-roy-semyon-varlamov-new-york-islanders-colorado-avalanche] is direct in what he wants out of his new team. At his first morning skate on Sunday, the 58-year-old Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender didn't hold back, stopping the most basic of drills, nit-picking at every little thing he thought needed to be corrected. It didn't matter if a player had been in the NHL for 10 years or 10 days, Roy was going to make sure that player understood what they did and understood what needed to be done next time. There's immediate...immediate accountability and growth at a level that these players haven't seen, especially at this rate. Now, Roy has to be completely hands-on because he's making a ton of changes to the system and structure that was in place prior to his arrival. While it's a lot for the players to deal with, it seems they've all bought into what Roy is selling. He wants aggressive defending but also wants to see puck possession. "That's music to my ears," Islanders forward Mathew Barzal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/mathew-barzal-new-york-islanders-patrick-roy-lane-lambert] said Sunday night. Despite an off day on Monday after a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Dallas Stars -- where the team all watched film instead of hitting the ice -- Barzal already feels like he can be himself out there in Roy's system. "I feel very comfortable on the ice," Barzal told The Hockey News. "[I feel like I can] just allow my instincts to play in, and that's just not even in the offensive zone. That's just all over the ice. "And when I feel that, I want to backcheck, I want to strip guys, I want to do that kind of stuff. It's Patrick Roy, man. I want to show him that I can play hockey." Roy was incredibly involved during his first game behind the bench, as if he was truly on thin ice with them. "I love it," Barzal said. "I'd rather that, to be honest with you." In the conversation with Barzal, THN mentioned that from watching above, Roy was like a drill sergeant out there, getting his troops ready for battle. "But in the right way," Barzal said. "This is family. He's made that clear. Like, this is family. This is a group thing. We're never going to win with just one or two guys like everybody is important, and that's the way it should be." It's clear, per Barzal's words, that the family feeling that is being infused into everything they do under Roy wasn't there at the level it should have been prior to Roy's arrival. The Islanders had openly admitted after Lambert was relieved of his duties that they got him fired with their play. Barzal shared Tuesday morning another issue in their game as of late that will be no more. "To be quite honest with you. Like there's a lot of new concepts. There's a lot of habits that we have to break," Barzal said. "Just being blunt, a lot of laziness has crept in over the last little while, so he's not here for that, which is perfect for us." The Islanders battle the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET at UBS Arena.
