Patrick Roy was not a happy camper after his Colorado Avalanche lost 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. He specifically had an issue with Avs goal scoring leader Matt Duchene’s goal celebration when Colorado was down 4-0.
Watch: Patrick Roy rips Matt Duchene for goal celebration (his 30th) in what was 4-0 game #Avs https://t.co/mSdsw9FycZ
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) April 4, 2016
“The thing I have a hard time with is the reaction of Duchy after his scores. It’s a 4-0 goal. Big cheer. Are you kidding me? What is that? I mean, it’s not the reflect that we want from our guys. Not at all,” said Roy.
Duchene celebrated a bit more than usual because the goal was his 30th of the season, a new career high for the 25-year-old. Was it a tad excessive? Perhaps, but with the Avalanche’s season effectively in the toilet, Roy wasn’t having it.
Roy continued with his rant, saying the Avalanche weren’t getting enough production from its core, saying they had a hard time carrying the team.
“I think we have some good leadership. Maybe not enough from our core. We need more from these guys. They need to prove to us that they can carry this team,” he said.
“Their core players are the ones who … our core players are having a hard time carrying this team,” said Roy. “I’m sorry. The core has to be our best players.”
That’s an odd comment to make given Duchene set a career high in goals, but Roy clearly isn’t happy with the Avalanche. He can lob criticism at his core all he wants, but Roy has a talented top-six forward group and has done little with them. The Avalanche are the worst possession team in the league, and most of the blame should be directly placed on him.
Duchene admitted after the game the goal meant nothing – but in a lost season, regardless of circumstance, it’s probably the highlight of the year for him. Roy should have given him his moment, considering there haven’t been many good ones for the Avalanche in 2015-16.