Sean and Stefen are joined by Ethan Sears as they discuss all things Islanders and the surprise hiring of Patrick Roy. The Islanders went 0-3-1 on their recent road trip, and an overtime loss to an AHL roster in the Chicago Blackhawks proved to be Lane Lambert’s last hurrah.
2:00 – Sean, Stefen and Ethan discuss the firing of Lane Lambert. Lambert went 61-46-20 during his tenure as Isles head coach (and 2-4 in the playoffs). Ethan states that Lou Lamoriello was not on their recent road trip, signaling that Lou had been previously thinking about making a chance, pulling strings behind the scenes to make it happen.
4:30 – Sean talks about the Chicago game being the final straw for Lane, and the firing being expected. Lane did not get the most out of this Islanders group, and the players themselves said they didn’t play well enough to save his job. Sean pointed out that the Islanders are bottom three in so many crucial defensive stats (shots against, slot chances, cycle chances, etc.)
8:00 – The Islanders defensive system took a massive step back and basically fell apart this season. Last year, after a rough January, the Isles returned to their basics and went on a run (without Barzal) to make the playoffs. This group has it in them to play defensively sound hockey, but for whatever reason it was unable to ever be consistent under Lane this season.
“For Patrick Roy to come in and in his first press conference say ‘this is what’s wrong’ and ‘this is how we can fix it,’ is going to be something that will be really important for this group. As important as it is that this group has so much experience together, I do think that there is an element of this group that thought their experience alone will fix things. Now we have someone who can come and say it won’t.”
-Ethan Sears on the importance of having a new voice in the organization
17:00 – The boys discuss the new Islander head coach: Patrick Roy. Roy is a fiery and passionate coach, and Ethan describes the intensity of his first morning skate to be miles different from the skates with Lane.
22:00 – Sean asks the guys what a new coach will do for the Islanders locker room. Ethan points out that getting someone who was not a part of the Islanders organization will be very important and refreshing.
30:00 – The boys continue their discussion of Patrick Roy and what fans can expect from him and the team.
45:00 – What’s on Tap! The boys discuss the Islanders upcoming schedule!
They face the Stars on Sunday night in Patrick Roy’s first game behind the bench, they hot the Golden Knights Tuesday night, head to Montreal on Thursday, and host the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
1:03:00 – Questions Brewin’!
Catch Hockey Night in New York with hosts Sean Cuthbert and Stefen Rosner live from Floored Media in Rockville Centre Sunday nights at 8PM ET throughout the season.