Ex-Avalanche Star Patrick Roy could Help Islanders to Playoffs

Former Colorado Avalanche goaltender and franchise legend Patrick Roy has the chance to make a big impact on the New York Islanders.

Going into his third game as New York head coach, the Islanders sit two points out of a wild card spot but are a heavily motivated group.

His hiring in place of Lane Lambert has inspired a better work ethic that could parlay into a late-season surge and a playoff berth for the Isles.

“I’ll use the phrase ‘culture shock,’” Matt Martin told NYI Hockey Now. “It’s a change. In a lot of ways, things got turned upside down. He’s got a different style and different energy. He’s very passionate. He’s won a lot in this league and is one of–if not the–greatest players at his position, so he carries a lot of weight.”

Right now, New York has +200 odds to make the playoffs this season. Bettors who think Roy has what it takes to put the Islanders over the top can bet on them online at betting.us.

While the Islanders only picked up one win in their first two games under Roy, they looked like a much different group.

They were forechecking harder, they were backchecking harder, and they were more dialed in on all three zones.

As a result, they picked up a big win over a competitive Dallas Stars team and took the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights to the brink.

“We did look pretty good during the most part of the game,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau told our colleagues on Long Island after the loss to Vegas. “We had our looks, and we cut the shots down from the last game. Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but I thought it was a lot of good stuff. We got rolling into the zone and broke out the puck pretty well, and our neutral zone was better. If we play this way, I think we’ll get the result we want more often.”

While there are still some growing pains to work through as the Islanders adjust to life under the coach who won a Jack Adams with the Colorado Avalanche in 2014, New York can still very much edge its way into the race.

The Eastern Conference wild card race is crowded by five teams that are within two points of each other for the final two playoff spots.

The Toronto Maple Leafs (54 points) and Detroit Red Wings (53 points) currently occupy those two spots, while the New Jersey Devils (51 points), Islanders (51 points) and Washington Capitals trail behind.

A few more teams still have a shot at leveraging themselves under the race with a shade under half the season to go, including the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are at 48 points.

In relation to the rest of the teams in the bubble, they are behind Toronto, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Detroit but ahead of Washington.

Toronto is one of the biggest favorites to win a wild card spot, or Atlantic Division spot for that matter, with -500 odds to make it. Their odds are higher than the Tampa Bay Lightning, who hold the third seed in the Atlantic Division and have -215 odds to make the postseason.

New Jersey, while tied with the Islanders in points, has -150 odds to make the playoffs despite an injury-plagued campaign. They also have two games in hand on the Islanders.

Pittsburgh, despite a rough stretch, has the next-best odds at -130. They do have one of the most star-studded rosters in the NHL and three games in hand on New York, but they have a lot of problems to figure out as well.

Detroit, while holding the final wild card spot at this moment, has +132 odds to make the postseason. They have surged into contention thanks to its core of young stars and the emergence of Alex Lyon in the net.

The Islanders have a lot of competition in the race, but they have what it takes to make it through.

They have the star power of Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Brock Nelson up front, a deep defense corps headlined by the emergence of Noah Dobson and one of the league’s best goaltenders in Ilya Sorokin.

With a boost from new head coach Patrick Roy, perhaps they can find themselves in the conversation once again.