5 changes NY Islanders coach Patrick Roy has already instituted.

For the 10th time in their 51-year history, the NY Islanders have changed head coaches midseason. Of those 9 previous changes, none of those Islanders teams made it to the playoffs. In fact, 8 out of the 9 coaching changes did not result in a winning record, with Doug Weight replacing Jack Capuano in 2016-17 being the lone exception. As with coaching changes in any sport, this is due to nonperformance from the team. Following the change in leadership, fans and organizations alike expect a difference to be shown on the ice.

Suffice it to say, Patrick Roy has already made his presence felt with the fiery passion he animates on the bench. Lane Lambert was relieved of his duties because the team has taken steps back in many key areas. Most notably, the penalty kill has gone from a top-10 success rate in the NHL to 31st overall. The mediocre effort against the Minnesota Wild was one in which fans and broadcasters such Butch Goring felt the players were 'not ready to play'. For an inaugural game to mark a new era, the Islanders played against the Dallas Stars as if all of their jobs were on the line. Already, we can pinpoint areas in which the team has paid more attention to detail with Roy behind the bench.

1. Penalty-Kill zone coverage.

The Islanders’ weakest unit on the ice this season looked as if Barry Trotz were still the coach on Sunday night. All season under Lambert, the Isles have played man-to-man coverage on the PK, which is illustrated by the defenseman and forwards standing in front of Ilya Sorokin waiting to block a shot or collect a rebound. By playing man-to-man coverage close to the net, this leaves the PK without options to turn the puck over and clear the defensive zone. Furthermore, this leaves the PK vulnerable to easy offensive zone entrees by the opponent, which means the defense is not prioritizing protection at the blue line. Amongst many reasons but certainly including this area, Sorokin currently leads the NHL in shots against.

During Sunday night's game against the Stars, the Islanders PK spread the perimeter and kept the defenseman closer to the slot area than to Sorokin. By spreading the perimeter, the PK was pushing the Stars back to their blue line, making shots against Sorokin more difficult to come by. We saw this with Bo Horvat and Cal Clutterbuck as they were able to create a turnover and clear the defensive zone. The Stars also had a difficult time entering the zone against Simon Holmstrom and J.G. Pageau as they forechecked well on the blue line, leading to 3 shorthanded goal opportunities.