Five things to know about the Islanders

(Flushing, New York) The Canadian faces the Islanders on Saturday evening at UBS Arena. A look at what’s good going on these days in Patrick Roy’s adopted land.

A successful return this time

Everyone will agree that Patrick Roy’s return to the Bell Center last season, behind the Islanders bench, was one of the great moments of the 2023-2024 campaign. All, except perhaps Roy himself, allergic to defeat, as we know, and who saw his team lose 4-3 to CH. However, last Monday, Roy set foot in Colorado for the first time as head coach of the Islanders. Colorado, where he won two more Stanley Cups and a Conn-Smythe Trophy as a goalie, and a Jack-Adams as a coach. This time, the comeback was a success, the Islanders winning 6-2. His presence was, however, soberly highlighted, according to reports from local newspapers, unlike in Montreal, where one would almost have believed that the Habs had deliberately shone the spotlight on him to distract him. “I was here to win a hockey game,” Roy said after the game, as reported by New York Post.

Sorokin in great shape

Do you find that the Canadian’s golf tournament is sometimes beige because everything is so formatted? It was the complete opposite of what the Islanders had last month. While the always transparent Lou Lamoriello was content to say that Ilya Sorokin suffered from an “upper body” problem, Roy spilled the beans by revealing that the star goaltender had in fact had back surgery during the off-season. After a 2023-2024 campaign below his standards (average of 3.01, efficiency of .909), Sorokin however started this season of redemption on the right foot. He won his first start and lost 1-0 in overtime in his second game Thursday in St. Louis. Sorokin allowed 3 goals on 64 shots, for an efficiency of .953. A great way to forget the imbroglio of the golf tournament.

All or nothing

The Islanders were excluded from the top 20 for goals scored over the last six seasons, i.e. since their 8^e rank in 2017-2018. In other words, their current generation has never been recognized as particularly talented offensively, no matter how skilled Mathew Barzal is. The first signs are not encouraging. The Suburbans have been shut out twice in four games. They certainly scored 10 goals in the other two duels, but that includes 6 against the Fu Lam buffet that is the Avalanche defense. Newcomer Anthony Duclair, Roy’s former protégé with the Remparts, chipped in with three points, including two goals, in four games.

The other Mr. October

Those nostalgic for the Canadian of the 1990s will never forget Brian Savage and his nickname Mr. October, a nickname valued in baseball, reviled in hockey. THE New York Post allowed itself a nice variation: Brocktober, nickname of veteran Brock Nelson. The striker also has, like Duclair, two goals and an assist, but he is used to strong starts to the season. With 75 points (38 goals, 37 assists) in 99 games, he is in fact at his most productive level in October since the start of his career. If his three points this month leave you cold, at least look at the goal he scored in Denver. This would be a “triple count goal” if the rules of Scrabble applied to hockey.

Romanov doesn’t stop

It will be interesting to see, in light of Kirby Dach’s slow start to the season, how opinions evolve about the trades the Canadian made in the 2022 draft to send Alexander Romanov to the Islanders, and obtain Dach. Romanov remains a permanent member of the top 4 Islanders defense. He has played 21 min 16 s per game so far, the 3^e team average, behind Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock. Romanov counts an assist and shows a differential of -2. His record will be one to watch during the season, since he is completing the final season of a three-year contract, which earns him $2.5 million per season, a contract he signed a few weeks after the Islanders had made its acquisition.