Tsyplakov Chat ELMONT, NY -- Despite an ugly start, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] came alive, getting out to a 5-1 lead after scoring two goals in the second and three goals in a 1:19 from 5:39 of the second to 7:58 of the final frame. Then disaster hit, with the Chicago Blackhawks scoring three unanswered goals, allowing two goals in a minute span (at 18:50-19:50) before the final horn blew, signaling a 5-4 win: “A win is a win, and we play to win games, but I guess times have changed because in my days, if my team would have done that to me, I would break a stick in that room,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “I’d be very upset to see my team playing like this in front of me. Ilya is a gentleman. He’s a first-class person, but that was unacceptable. We didn't compete. We didn't battle in front of the net in the last eight minutes. That's unacceptable. We talked about it this morning, to be stronger. Our goalie deserves more respect than this.” “Let's not kid ourselves, a win is a win. Let's be happy about winning the hockey game. Deep inside, we know that we can't do what we did in the end of the game. That the guys will know for sure. They're going to listen to what you're saying, read the paper, and listen to the radio, so they'll know already.” Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExMzYwMjk1NDE3ODE2MjIz/usatsi_24973424.jpg] It was like a switch flipped twice in this game, starting on and off and getting flipped on before a full power outage. “We stopped competing in front of our own net. That's all. We didn't do a good job protecting the net front," Roy said. "We can't play like this. It doesn't matter where we are or what the score [is], Up, or down, it doesn't matter. We got to be better in front of our net, protecting our goalie. "We have one of the best in the game. He doesn't deserve that. I would feel bad about it, I really would. We got to play the game for 60 minutes, and we have to play a certain way, and I don't think Ilya deserved that from us.” Throughout the press conference, you could tell Roy had more on his mind and was trying to keep himself from absolutely exploding. The Islanders will be practicing on Friday, so we'll see how the team reacts after a horrific ending to a game that should never have been that close.
