It’s always easier to fire a coach than a team, but the NHL world was still shocked when the Boston Bruins relieved head coach Jim Montgomery so early in the season.
Related: Former Islanders Forward Joe Sacco Named Bruins Interim Head Coach
The firing, with Boston 8-9-3 through 20 games, sparked discussions on social media, which included words from former NHL defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who took his talents to the KHL this summer.
“There’s probably about 15 teams that should be firing coaches to hire Montgomery today, lol,” DeAngelo posted on X.
A New Jersey Devils fan then tagged the New York Islanders team’s X page, signaling that they believed Long Island should fire Patrick Roy, given their 7-7-5 start to their season.
DeAngelo decided to respond.
“No, not them,” the 29-year-old native of New Jersey said. “Having played against Roy in the playoffs last year, I was impressed [by] how well he had them prepped to play against our style in Carolina.
“We were a much better team, in my opinion, but they could have arguably won every game of the series.”
That’s some high praise from a former opponent, especially from a guy who’s played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Rangers (three Metropolitan Division rivals).
Everyone has their own opinion on how the series went; some believe the Islanders never stood a chance, some are just numb to the first-round exits at this point, and there are even some who agree with DeAngelo’s take.
Game One felt like a completely missed opportunity, even though it was arguably the Islanders’ best game of the series. They outshot the Hurricanes 34-26, and the Freddie Andersen show prevented an upset in Raleigh to open the series, a 3-1 defeat.
Game Two—well, there’s certainly a lot you can say about game two. The Hurricanes pushed from the second period until the final buzzer. The Islanders were up 3-0, which, in the playoffs, has to be locked down.
The Islanders lost 5-3. It was yet another game that seemed so winnable just slipped right through their fingers.
In Game Three, the Islanders played another decent game, outshooting the Hurricanes 31-22, but Ilya Sorokin didn’t quite have his best stuff in his first appearance of the postseason, letting in a few questionable goals, which deflated the Islanders and propelled the Hurricanes to a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 3-2 win.
The Islanders were, in fact, able to take the Game Four in overtime, in which the Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 44-35.
The Hurricanes dominated in Game Five to send the Islanders home packing, winning 6-3.
Related: Islanders Season Ends, Fall 6-3 To Hurricanes; Allow Two Costly Third Period Goals In Eight Seconds
To outsiders, the series looked like pure domination from the Hurricanes, taking the series four games to one. However, as DeAngelo said, the Islanders could have arguably won every game.
Roy’s preparation did not get the credit it deserved at the time, but now that a former opposing player who experienced playing against his coaching style firsthand has praised it, maybe that changes some people’s viewpoint on the Hockey Hall of Famer.
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