This was Patrick Roy’s message Wednesday to the New York media, and it was the same when he arrived at the Bell Center: Thursday’s game is important first and foremost for the ranking. Not for his return to Montreal.
Roy met the media late Thursday afternoon, a few hours before the duel between his New York Islanders and the Canadian.
“My concentration is much more on the match than on anything else,” Roy said from the outset. “I told the players: this is not a match that concerns me, it is a match that concerns our team. We are in a battle for the series. It’s a four-point game and we’re focused on the game. »
Roy basically repeated the same response in English. To a colleague who tried to relaunch him, Roy was transparent. “You can rephrase it, but you’re going to get the same answer!” »
We will note the generosity of Roy who, by his mention of a four-point match, visibly considers the Canadian in the race for the playoffs, even if Montreal is eight points from the last place giving access to the playoffs in the East. But the Islanders are two points from the target, and Roy has the mandate to right the ship in time to avoid the team being excluded from the playoffs for the second time in three years. After two games, his club is 1-1-0.
Whatever he says, the fact remains that a special atmosphere is to be expected on Thursday evening. All eyes of hockey fans will be on the Bell Centre. The media contingent expected at his press scrum was such that the Canadiens’ conference room was offered to the Islanders for the occasion. In living memory, the last opposing team to hold a press briefing there was the Toronto Maple Leafs, when Brian Burke fired Ron Wilson on the eve of a game in Montreal in 2012.
Will Roy allow himself to experience the emotions? “I always tried to do that, but it never really worked!” joked the former goalkeeper. I am an intense person. I am a person who likes to win and wants to be focused on what needs to be done.
I’m sorry, I just want to focus on our match. I think the fans [du Canadien] know that I love them and respect their organization.
Patrick Roy, Islanders head coach
Furnished week
While Roy avoided inflammatory statements, he offered more details about the hours that led to his hiring.
The former Remparts pilot was in Florida when he learned that he was Lou Lamoriello’s right-hand man. It was last Friday. The next day, he flew back to Montreal, before driving to New York on Saturday, to be behind the bench on Sunday.
“I told myself that the best thing was to give the players Monday off, and to talk between coaches about what we want to do. So we met from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., then I stayed with Lou until 7:30 p.m. We never got a chance to practice, so we did it yesterday, and I I thought it was the right time to send the players off this morning. »
In doing so, Roy removed his men from what would have been a crowded locker room after morning practice.
The former number 33 took advantage of his Wednesday evening in the Quebec metropolis to have a first dinner with his assistants. His boss made sure to reserve a box for his family. “That’s what I like about Lou. I can focus on one thing: coaching,” Roy said, one of the many flowers he threw at Lamoriello.
Comments from the new owner of the Senators, Michael Andlauer, also came up during a press briefing. In an interview with 104.7 in Outaouais, Andlauer admitted “regretting a little” not having hired Roy, and explained that the “timing” was not good. Jacques Martin currently leads the team, on an interim basis.
Roy obviously didn’t want to venture into such slippery terrain. “I’m so happy to be in New York and working with Lou. That’s where my head is. »