Patrick Roy was the star of Canada's national anthem before Thursday night's game at the Bell Center and he enjoyed it.
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In fact, during O Canada, images of 'Casseau's' career flashed on the giant screen as fans gave him a warm ovation and the former number 33 was emotional.
“I would like to thank the Canadian organization, it was really a nice gesture on their part and I really appreciate it. The fans were great as always, always been A-1 fans. I'm very grateful for everything that happened before the game.
“I didn't know what to expect, I never looked at the scoreboard, but in the end I looked a little and saw something. In a game like this you just want to stay focused. I said it from the start, it wasn't about me, I just wanted us to concentrate on our game.
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chills
Roy did everything he could to protect his players from the distractions that came with his return to the Bell Center, and according to Jean-Gabriel Pageau, he succeeded.
“He really is a team man, you can see why he had so much success in his career and why he was a leader. He really brings a great team spirit, he really wanted to focus on the game and not all the attention he was going to get and that's very well deserved. We knew what was going to happen, it was a special moment for us too.”
The Outaouais striker admitted he experienced emotions at the honour.
“The playoff games are always special here, but I would say this is one of the games where I experienced the most thrill during the national anthem. As a Quebecer you grow up watching a Hall of Fame legend, he more than deserves that.”
Good start
The Islanders were down 3-0 midway through the first period, but Roy felt his men were still good from the start.
“For me we had a good start to the game, we had several chances to score, [Samuel] Montembeault made several good saves. “It is certain that we have to correct the turnovers and that puck that was sent into the stands. He just slows down our momentum and has a big impact on the team’s performance.”
Roy also took some time out after the Canadian's third goal to talk to his players and used the opportunity to calm his team.
“He was positive throughout his speech and talked about getting back to basics by continuing to work, and we did that until the end,” Pageau said.
Resilience
As a goalkeeper, Patrick Roy fought for every puck and he would like to convey that to his new protégés.
“That's the culture we want to have, we want to be resilient and we proved that until the end. We used up all our gas, it's hard to come back from behind,” Pageau summarized.
His team scored two power play goals late in the game to tie the score at 3-3, but Sean Monahan scored the winning goal just over a minute after the equalizer. So Roy could have been angry, but on the contrary, he was calm, composed and positive in front of the media, to whom he spoke for seven minutes.
“I'm very happy with the resilience of our boys, we won the second and third periods, we had the mentality we're looking for. “It’s unfortunate how it ended because they worked hard to even the score.”