Patrick Roy and the New York Islanders had a three-goal lead in the 2024 Stadium Series. They were on the fast track to defeating the New York Rangers and emerging with a huge victory. However, it didn't work out that way. The Rangers came back to win in overtime. And it left their New York counterparts searching for answers.

Some Islanders players spoke about how much the loss hurt on Sunday. That said, not everyone had a gloomy takeaway. In fact, head coach Patrick Roy found a lot of positives from their loss. And he focused on those positives when speaking with reporters following the game.

“As a coach, I feel good about our game,” Roy said, via NHL.com. “Yes, those penalties at the end hurt us, but we did a lot of good things. When I look at the 5-on-5, that’s the hockey we want to play, and I thought we had a very good game.”

Islanders' Patrick Roy remains positive following Stadium Series loss to Rangers

In Roy's view, his team had the game in its hands. New York played a sound game against their intra-state rivals on Sunday afternoon. In the end, they couldn't hold onto the lead, and they let that ever-important second point slip away. But the positives are still there for Roy and the Islanders to see.

“We played them with a good pace. We competed well, we had our chances. [Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin] made a great save on (Brock) Nelson midway through the third period. … To me, it’s a very positive game for us. Calls didn’t go our way, and they scored on those,” the Islanders head coach said, via NHL.com.

New York remains in the Eastern Conference playoff race. That said, Sunday's loss certainly puts pressure on them. The Islanders are now four points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild card spot. Furthermore, they need to leap frog the New Jersey Devils, who won their Stadium Series matchup on Saturday.

Patrick Roy likes what he saw from his team, despite the result. It'll certainly be interesting to see how the Hockey Hall of Famer and his team respond. What we can say for sure is that these next few weeks are crucial for the Islanders' playoff hopes.