Lane Lambert Out As Islanders Head Coach
Lane Lambert is officially no longer the New York Islanders’ head coach. In classic Lou Lamoriello fashion, the team has fired him and replaced him with former hall-of-fame goalie Patrick Roy. It was long overdue and deserved after a pitiful 0-4 road trip. The team made the news official moments ago:
#Isles News: New York Islanders President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced today that Lane Lambert has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities. Patrick Roy has been named Head Coach of the New York Islanders.
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 20, 2024
At the time of writing, the Isles are 19-15-11, good for 49 points in 45 games and tied for sixth in the Metro. They had a great month of November but the wheels started falling off as Christmas and New Year’s came around. Fans had been calling for a replacement as soon as blown leads started to pile up. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles were solid in the third period. They couldn’t score much, but when they had a lead, shutting the door was a formality. That element of their game has flown out of the window under Lambert.
For me personally, my breaking point came in Nashville last weekend. He ran out a line of Matt Martin – JG Pageau – Mathew Barzal to close out regulation. Three guys who have barely played together ad resulted in losing at least one point with less than ten seconds to play. A lot of the issues this season can be coaching-related if you ask me. Replacing the inexperienced Lambert with a former Jack Adams Award winner in Roy is a shrewd move by Lou.
Saint Pat In Charge
One thing Roy is behind the bench is a tough customer. He is not quite a player’s coach like Lambert was. He is much closer to Trotz and the players should respond to that. His prior coaching experience came in Colorado. His three seasons behind the bench was definitely a mixed bag. A 130-92-24 record is not shabby. Especially when you look at the wagon from the 2013-2014 season. A 112 point squad with a young Nathan MacKinnon running the show that got upset by the Wild in seven games of the first round. The following two seasons were not great, especially with the players starting to turn on him for his hard nosed style. Regardless, he will help in the present.
If the big guns like Barzal and Noah Dobson can regain their high-level play, a playoff push is entirely on the cards.
Lane Lambert is fired from his post as Islanders head coach. And a very big name is stepping in to take the reigns.
