The New York Islanders have struggled throughout the majority of the 2023-24 season, and they find themselves on the outside of the NHL's Eastern Conference playoff structure. As a result of that inconsistent performance, Islanders president of hockey operations/general manager Lou Lamoriello has parted company with head coach Lane Lambert and he has replaced him with Patrick Roy.

The legendary goaltender is starting his second stint as an NHL head coach. Roy coached the Colorado Avalanche for three seasons from 2014 through 2016.

Lamoriello and Islanders fans had much higher expectations for this year's team, and he hopes the fiery Roy can help lift the team into a winning streak and a spot in the playoffs. “Patrick Roy was the only person I was interested in. That’s why he’s here today.”

While the Islanders are not far away from a playoff spot, they have been slumping. They take a 4-gaame losing streak into their home game Sunday night against the Dallas Stars. The Islanders have won just  2 of their last 10 games.

The Islanders did not appear to be playing with sufficient energy, and that's something that caught Lamoriello's attention.

“Watching our team play, I felt that the inconsistency that has been going on for some period of time was not going to end,” Lamoriello said. “When I had the opportunity to meet with Patrick recently, I felt that this was the best for our organization to go forward.”

Roy will depend on forwards Mathew Barzal (46 points), Bo Horvat (42 points) and Brock Nelson (20 goals) for the bulk of their scoring. Defenseman Noah Dobson is having a sharp season and he has contributed 45 points and a plus-16 rating.