Islanders feed off Roy’s energy, emotion in winning debut against Stars

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Patrick Roy lifted his left foot up on the bench in front of him and placed his left hand on his knee when overtime began.

Roy didn't move until he raised his left hand in the air, his first fist pump as the New York Islanders coach, a quick celebration for Bo Horvat's goal 41 seconds into the extra session that gave the home team a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars at UBS Arena on Sunday.

That whole sequence of less than a minute was maybe the least animated Roy was throughout his first night as the Islanders coach, the Hall of Famer's first game behind an NHL bench since April 9, 2016, when he coached his last with the Colorado Avalanche before stepping down four months later.

"I was very nervous, I won't lie," Roy said. "You always want to win that first game."

Roy spoke about his nerves to the Islanders players before the game.

"Gave us a little touch of him being a human, telling us he was a little nervous, and I was too," New York center Mathew Barzal said. "It was nice to hear that from him."

You couldn't tell he was nervous once the game started.

Roy was expressive from the start; yelling, clapping, teaching and pacing between assistant coaches Doug Houda and John MacLean.

"Somebody probably has to throw a Fitbit on him or something, track his steps," Horvat said. "He was great back there."

The Islanders players say they fed off Roy's energy.

"He was definitely right into it," Horvat said. "He was playing the whole game for us. He's got so much passion and love for the game back there. You can tell he was a pretty vocal goalie when he was back there yelling at his 'D'. It was definitely helpful."

Said Barzal: "If you guys can see it, we definitely felt it. Super positive all night."

There were moments in the first period that Roy was loud enough to be heard in the press box, which is across the ice from the Islanders' bench and high above the 300 section.

"Yeah, I mean, he's got a good whistle on him," defenseman Noah Dobson said. "He was good all night, positive and it's great to get a big win for him."

Roy said that's who he is, vocal, energetic, emotional. He was that way as a player and he tries to be as a coach, but even he knew he had to calm himself down after the first period, realizing that sometimes it can be too much.

"I think at some point I have to let the players play the game and be themselves, and that's what I was trying to do," Roy said. "There are moments you want to have the intensity and show the players, but they know that I'm here to win and they know that I'm going to be there for them. That's very important."

Roy's messaging was a change of pace for the Islanders.

"The language that Patty was speaking tonight was a touch different and new than maybe we're used to," Barzal said.

Barzal isn't talking about Roy maybe dropping in the occasional French phrase. No, it was about the style of play he wants to see out of the Islanders.

"Patty's philosophy seems to be a little more puck possession, a little bit more aggressiveness all over the ice, and I thought it translated well," Barzal said. "We've got long, rangy 'D' that can make it hard on other teams, so gaps are a big thing that he's preached already. Holding the puck, wanting to tilt the ice. That's music to my ears."

The Islanders showed some of that Sunday.

They have a long way to go.

They allowed 42 shots on goal, with Roy saying 17 came off New York turnovers. He said they relied too much on goalie Ilya Sorokin, who made 40 saves and was the game's second star behind Horvat.

"If we want to cut down below 30 [shots against] we're going to have to do a better job not turning that puck over," Roy said. "When we're going to reach that neutral zone, we're going to have to make sure we make good decisions on where we put the puck. If you want to play offense, you put it deep. If you want to play defense, then you turn over that puck. Even in our zone we did."

Roy, though, said he could tell the Islanders' defensemen were "a little afraid to leave the netfront because these are the habits they have had for a long time."

He talked about the need for trust between the forwards and defensemen, the need to build that with the new style of play he's going to implement.

"When we're going to be more comfortable, we're going to have a lot more heavy pressure in the 'D' zone, and I think that's going to help our team breakout and less time in our zone," he said.

That's the style Roy will passionately, energetically and loudly preach and teach with each practice, team video session, 1-on-1 meeting and game. That's his way, his only way.

The Islanders got a slice of it Sunday. They liked it. They want more.

They're going to get it.

If it wasn't already, the two things that became crystal clear in Roy's debut is that he's all in and he's not going to take his second chance behind an NHL bench for granted.

"I love it," Roy said. "Yeah, it'd be easy to stay home and play golf and enjoy life, but this is what makes me feel I'm alive and I really enjoy it."