Patrick Roy rubs off all the way to Toronto, and Keefe must regret it
Patrick Roy's Islanders managed, with great difficulty, to qualify for the playoffs. It's still a great achievement for Roy and his team, whom no one expected to be there.
What caught everyone's attention was Patrick's management of the goalies. He preferred Semyon Varlamov over his star goalie Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin even left the ice in tears during the third game of the series after allowing three goals.
Roy received a lot of criticism for this decision, and a similar situation is unfolding in Toronto. Sheldon Keefe, their head coach, took a page out of Roy's book, and it didn't go well.
Indeed, Keefe decided to go with Samsonov in goal, even though Joseph Woll had been their best goalie for almost two years. He was healthy, but Keefe left him on the bench.
It turned out to be a costly decision because part of the blame for the team's three losses can be attributed to Woll.
Trailing 3-1 in the series, Woll made his entrance and looked good in the victory in the fifth game. He will also be back for the sixth game tonight.
He will be the starting goalie for the Maple Leafs in the sixth game.» - Via Patrick Friolet, RDS
I'm not a coach, and I admire their work. I don't want to judge, but personally, I would go with my best goalie, come what may. I find it hard to understand this kind of decision.
Furthermore, Keefe's job with the Maple Leafs is on the line right now. If the team doesn't win this series, it wouldn't be surprising to see him leave. He's sitting on a hot seat.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Patrick Roy will become the general manager of the Islanders in the coming years? | ||
| Yes | 171 | 57.8 % |
| No | 125 | 42.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
