5 things – Flames @ Islanders

2. Know your enemy

The Islanders made waves in the hockey world in January, hiring Hall of Famer Patrick Roy as their new head coach.

He has amassed a 3-1-2 record in his six games and is proud of his Islanders' wins over the Leafs and Thunder since returning from the All-Star break for Saturday's contest.

New York scored three goals in the first period and three more in the second en route to a 6-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday night; Six different Isles lit up the lights, with forwards Matthew Barzal and Beau Horvath each scoring a goal and adding an assist.

The UBS Arena faithful could be heard chanting Roy's name Thursday, another sign of the love affair between the New York faithful and the former Habs and Avalanche goaltender.

“What I like about these fans is that they have heart,” Roy told reporters on Friday. “You can tell they get mad when we don't work, and when we do they love us; I think what they expect from our team is very simple.

“I'm so blessed to be a part of this adventure, I'll tell you that.”

It looks like it's going to be an adventure. New York entered Friday's game two points behind Detroit for second in the Eastern Conference.

Barzal leads New York in scoring with 54 points, while Horvath and Brock Nelson share the team lead with 21.

Defenseman Noah Dobson is coming off a career year, his 53 points are third most among NHL blueliners, with 21 of those coming on the powerplay.

The individual stats are good, but even more impressive for Roy is how his group is starting to shape up, both with and without the puck.

“I feel like we're progressing in every aspect of our game right now.”