Some National Hockey League coaches do not seem indifferent to Patrick Roy’s daring techniques.
The Montreal Canadiens legend got into the habit, during his career as an instructor, of removing his goaltender very early in the third period when his club was behind by several goals. This was the case when he was behind the bench of the Colorado Avalanche, between 2013 and 2016, and he has continued to do so since his arrival with the New York Islanders last January.
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On Thursday, with the Islanders trailing the St. Louis Blues 3-0, Roy asked Semyon Varlamov to move to the bench in favor of a sixth skater with nearly 11 minutes left in the game. match. The tactic did not work, as the Blues took advantage of the vacant cage to score a fourth goal.
Roy tried again two days later against the Tampa Bay Lightning, this time with just over six minutes remaining in the third period. Even though his charges managed to reduce the score to 3 to 1, they lost 4 to 2.
Moreover, Jon Cooper tried the same thing Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. With 9:16 left in the game and with a three-goal deficit to make up, Andrei Vasilevskiy was called back to the bench. Steven Stamkos scored a few minutes later, but the Flyers then scored two empty-net goals, confirming their 6-2 victory.
Will other coaches follow suit? This will be continued.