New York Islanders Head coach Patrick Roy is using the teams’ final game of 2025 as an opportunity to push different buttons, shuffling all four lines ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.
Roy said the changes were less about reacting to a single loss and more about continuing a season-long approach of experimenting with combinations to find the right balance.
“We want to try different things all year,” Roy said. “We talk about it and we’ll continue to do it.”
The most notable adjustment saw Mathew Barzal shift back to the wing alongside Bo Horvat and Emil Heineman, reuniting two of the Islanders’ most dynamic offensive players.