2024-02-04 06:00:00
The New York Islanders have won only one of their four games since Patrick Roy was named their head coach on January 21. Despite everything, he never stopped being positive. With reason? Yes, according to our robots.
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Certainly, Roy would probably have preferred to collect a few more points in his first four games behind the bench: with a harvest of three points out of a possible eight, the Isles left for the All-Star break five points behind the Detroit Red Wings and the last place leading to the playoffs.
“We were far away and I think we’re getting closer to where we want to be,” he said last Saturday, after their last game before the break, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers.
Not everything is negative, and the advanced statistics prove that the Islanders have played better hockey in the last four games than on average in the previous 45, under the leadership of Lane Lambert.
Best in their territory
When he took office, Roy placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of fixing the Islanders’ defensive play, lamenting the fact that they were in the bottom third in several categories, including zone exits and shooting time. possession in both the defensive and offensive zones.
With the help of the SportLogiq firm, we were able to see that these three facets have been considerably improved during the Islanders’ last four games.
Under Lambert, Mathew Barzal’s squad was probably the worst defensive team in the entire NHL. They were among the three worst teams on the circuit in many categories including expected opponent goals, total shots allowed, including in the slot, as well as time of possession allowed to the opponent in their territory.
Work to do
Under Roy, all of these numbers have improved, but even though the Islanders have moved up from the bottom, they remain in the bottom third of the league. Except for the time of possession allowed to the opponent which went from 7:44 on average under Lane Lambert, good for 30th in the NHL, to 5:39 in Roy’s four games, good for sixth rank of the circuit during this period.
The Islanders also spent almost a minute more, on average, in possession of the puck in enemy territory, under Roy (from 5:43 to 6:38).
There is certainly a link with the fact that the team corrected a major deficiency that Roy had identified, namely its effectiveness when exiting the territory.
On average, under Lane Lambert, the Islanders managed 69 zone exits per game while, during Roy’s four games behind the bench, the Islanders effectively left their defensive territory on average 79 times per game, including 89 against the Golden Knights. in Vegas on Jan. 23, a team high this season.
More offensive
This extra minute spent on average in the offensive territory, as well as its greater efficiency in leaving its territory, meant that the team was significantly more dangerous in attack.
In Roy’s four games, the Islanders finished first in the NHL in expected goals with 4.32, compared to 3.15 under Lane Lambert, and remained near the top of several offensive statistics.
These figures are therefore consistent with the message that Roy has sent to his players since his debut with the team.
“He wants us to be aggressive defensively but also to have possession of the puck. That’s music to my ears,” rejoiced Mathew Barzal after his first meeting with Roy.
The Islanders’ star center has also been used excessively by his new pilot since his arrival, being used for more than 20 minutes in each of the last four games, including 26:31 on January 25 against the Montreal Canadiens.
It is therefore obvious that, even if the sample remains small, the adjustments made by Patrick Roy have been successful so far.
Ultimately, however, they will have to be able to win more often than they have since the arrival of their new coach since the playoffs could quickly become a distant dream.
Attack
Average per game (NHL rank)
Under Lane LambertUnder Patrick RoyGoals scored2.93 (23rd)2.50 (24th)Expected goals3.15 (18th)4.32 (1st)Shots attempted58 (21st)67 (4th)Shots on goal30.2 (24th)36.8 (5th)Slot shots14 (16th)16.5 (5th)Time of possession in offensive zone5:43 (30th)6:38 (16th)Quality scoring chances15.8 (8th)19.8 ( 2nd)
Source: Sportlogiq
Defensive
Average per game (NHL rank)
Under Lane LambertUnder Patrick RoyGoals allowed3.36 (24th)3 (12th)Expected goals against3.97 (32nd)3.45 (26th)Shots attempted allowed70.9 (32nd)60.5 (24th)Shots allowed35.9 (31st) 35.8 (26th)Shots allowed from the slot16.7 (31st)17.3 (29th)Time of possession allowed in defensive zone7 min 44 s (30th)5 min 39 s (6th)Quality scoring chances allowed19, 4 (32nd)18 (28th)
SOURCE: SPORTLOGIQ
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