The Islanders head coach smokes his team but supports his goalie after a tough loss

Once a member of the goalkeepers’ union, always a member of the goalkeepers’ union.

Patrick Roy and the New York Islanders hosted the bottom-place Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, and although it looked like the Islanders would eke out a victory thanks to a 5-1 lead midway through the third period, the Blackhawks fought back to nearly take the game to send it into overtime and ultimately lost 5:4.

Of course, it’s good to come out of there with two points since the Islanders are currently fighting for a wildcard spot, but Roy wasn’t at all impressed with his team’s performance in the final ten minutes of the game.

With the exception of goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin. He played well.

“A win is a win and we play to win games but I think times have changed because if my team had done that to me I would have broken a stick in that room,” Roy said via The Hockey News.

Remember, this is Patrick Roy we’re talking about. I don’t think he’s exaggerating. He would definitely do that.

“I would be very upset if my team played like that in front of me. Ilya is a gentleman. He is a first class human being, but this was unacceptable. We didn’t compete. We didn’t fight before me.” “That’s unacceptable,” he said.

“We talked this morning about getting stronger. Our goalkeeper deserves more respect.”

Patrick Roy wasn’t disappointed with how his team played against Chicago on Thursday night… with the exception of goalie Ilya Sorokin; He played well. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

The Blackhawks defeated the Isles 30-21 on Thursday night, and according to Money Puck’s Deserve To Win O’Meter, the Blackhawks had a 55 percent chance of winning based on 1,000 simulations.

So it’s fair to say that the Isles are lucky to have come out of this game with a win, and that’s largely thanks to Sorokin.

Giving up more shots than you take – especially high-quality ones like the Islanders’ – is not a sustainable way to win hockey games, and Roy knows that as well as anyone.