EAST MEADOW, NY — New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov, like the rest of his teammates on Wednesday morning, listened as his head coach Patrick Roy went on an emotionally-driven rant at center ice during practice.
Romanov heard the message loud and clear.
“He said the right things. The most important thing he said is that we can’t lose confidence right now,” Romanov told The Hockey News. “Not so long ago, we had a seven-game winning streak, and we gotta bring it back. That’s all we need right now. We can’t give up.”
The Islanders enter Thursday night’s game against the Boston Bruins seven points back of the second wild-card spot, riding a four-game losing streak.
How do they get out of this?
“We need to be more solid in the defensive zone,” Romanov said. “Because we have a lot of scoring chances in the offensive zone as well, like, almost 40 shots two games in a row.
“So just play the same way and play more solid with better focus.”
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Romanov has been one of the Islanders’ biggest bright spots this season, emerging as a true No. 1 defenseman.
However, individual results don’t matter, which was part of Roy’s message to the team, especially after a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers.
The Islanders need to rally collectively, as their season is hanging on by a thread.
Roy’s speech should rev them up for Boston, but if the team lacks energy and belief early, that tells general manager Lou Lamoriello all he needs to know ahead of the March 7th NHL Trade Deadline.
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