Islanders, Analytics & Finally, A Winning Result

The Islanders took advantage of their scoring chances in their 5-4 overtime win against the Boston Bruins.

When we spoke with New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy in the days leading up to their game against the Boston Bruins, the Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender explained why he still believed in his team despite the team's losing results.

"[The belief is] based on scoring chances and puck possession," Roy said. "And I feel like in that game [against Toronto], it was, what, 14-14 in scoring chances? So we had enough chance to win the game. I don't mind those 2-1 games or 1-0 games. Sometimes, it's just to find a way to win those ones, get some confidence out of this, and feel good about it.”

Analytics is something Roy pointed out, too, often, but in a result-driven business, the stats didn’t matter because they weren’t resulting in wins.

He wasn’t wrong, though, as both Toronto games, one on New Year’s Eve (3-1 L) and one on Jan. 2 (2-1 L), could have resulted in wins based on how they possessed and garnered scoring chances.

They just didn’t capitalize, which is a common thread this season.

Then came the game in Boston.