Patrick Roy thankful after first win as coach of the New York Islanders
The New York Islanders have a new coach who just got his first win with the franchise.
By Jim Lynch
After three years as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Patrick Roy is back in the NHL now coaching a new team in the New York Islanders.
Roy made his coaching debut for New York during the Islanders 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Sunday, Jan. 21.
The Islanders played a tough team in Dallas, who currently resides in a playoff spot in the Central Division. For the Islanders, they improved their home record to 12-5-6 on the year and as of Monday morning currently sit in fourth place within the Metropolitan Division just four points back of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Patrick Roy earned his 131 coaching win, his first with the New York Islanders.
Roy has not coached an NHL game since the 2015-16 when he finished the year 39-39-4, getting the win infront of a home crowd in New York had to feel good.
"I was very nervous, I won't lie," Roy said speaking with reporters. "You always want to win that first game, and I am very thankful to the players for the effort they put out there."
You can see Roy's full comments after the overtime victory here:
With the win, the Islanders crack a four game losing streak. The team dropped four road games in the Central Division losing to the Chicago Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.
The four game streak ended up costing Lane Lambert his job as head coach, and now just a few days later, Roy has his first win.
Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders have their work cut out for them if they are going to steamroll their way to the postseason.
There are a lot of teams pushing to make the postseason in the eastern conference, which just means more and more teams will be playing for the two wild card spots.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning all look like playoff teams. With the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins both looking strong, those three teams could take up the final spot in the Atlantic as well as both Wild Card spots.
In the Metro, the Rangers, Flyers and Hurricanes are the current top three in. That leaves the Islanders, Capitals, Devils and Penguins all vying for postseason contention through the Wild Card.
Patrick Roy definitely has his work cut out for him, but at least that first win is out of the way.