DENVER — Shortly after the final horn, an irate Patrick Roy screamed at the Anaheim Ducks through the glass partition separating the two benches.
Still worked up, he shoved the glass with both hands not once but twice, causing it to tip forward.
Yep, Roy’s just as fiery as ever.
In his NHL coaching debut, Roy lost only his temper as the Colorado Avalanche routed the Ducks 6-1 on Wednesday night.
For his outburst, Roy received a game misconduct — and cheers from the fans, who hope the Hall of Fame goalie can lead this downtrodden franchise back to prominence, much like he did years ago when he helped the Avs to two Stanley Cup titles.
https://twitter.com/andystrickland/status/385803978316857344
Roy’s rage didn’t exactly make him any friends with the Ducks.
He hollered at opposing players and then yelled at Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, who yapped right back. That’s when Roy pushed on the glass until it tilted, surprising Boudreau.
“(He’s) going to be in for a long year, if he’s going to yell at every player and yell at the refs at every stoppage of play,” Boudreau said. “It’s not the way the game is played.”
Roy was sticking up for his players, agitated over an apparent tripping infraction against top draft pick Nathan MacKinnon that wasn’t called.
“That should have been a penalty, in my opinion,” Roy said. “I don’t think this league needs that type of cheap shot.”
With the game already long over and only a few seconds remaining, Roy sent Patrick Bordeleau and Cody McLeod onto the ice, fourth-line players who are also the team’s top enforcers.
And that infuriated Anaheim.
“He put the big guys in there at the end to probably make a big show out of it,” defenceman Francois Beauchemin said. “I’m not surprised.”