Patrick Roy, who spent his Hall of Fame National Hockey League career keeping pucks out of his net and annoying the opposition, is back at it.
Roy, lured behind the bench of the Colorado Avalanche in the off-season after a successful coaching/ownership career in the Quebec Major Junior League, is getting his proper due for the Avs' sensational start to the 2013-14 season.
Colorado, picked by Sports Illustrated in pre-season rankings to finish 13th in the 14-team Western Conference, won 13 of its first 15 games, giving up only 27 goals in the process. Those defensive numbers bring a big grin to Roy's face, but creating an even bigger smile is the realization that the Avalanche are solid everywhere and have to be considered an early favourite for Stanley Cup contention next spring.
In only two of the Avs' first 15 games did the team give up more than two goals - and those were the team's two losses through mid-November (6-4 to Nashville; 4-2 to Detroit). They're doing it with great offence (while giving up 27 goals in 15 games, the Avalanche scored 53) and a virtual no-name defensive corps. Colorado has no starry offensive blueliner in the mould of Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson or P.K. Subban, but the top six of Andre Benoit, Jan Hejda, Erik Johnson, Cory Sarich, Ryan Wilson and Nate Guenin have been keeping things clean in front of goalies Semyon Varlamov and J.S. Giguere.
The Avs are winning games with Roy's coaching, great defence and a solid offence, led by third-year forward Matt Duchene, a first-round pick in 2009 who has blossomed this season, averaging a point a game. Rookie Nathan McKinnon, the 18-year-old overall first pick, hasn't hurt either, with 10 points through his first 15 games.
"We just want to surprise the world of hockey," Roy repeated over and over during the early part of the season.
It's working. "When you've tasted losing it breeds more losing," Duchene told an NHL.com reporter. "When you taste winning you get that hunger for it. It's heartbreaking when we lose right now."
A lengthy losing streak is unlikely. Roy, who won the Stanley Cup four times (twice with Montreal; twice with Colorado), doesn't take losing lightly and will hammer that approach into his team. "We deserve right now to be where we're at and if we continue to play the way we are we're going to be near the top of the League," said Duchene.
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