Montreal Canadiens: Joshua Roy Has Five Point Night To Take Over AHL Scoring Lead

The Montreal Canadiens have dealt with countless injuries over the past two seasons, and 2023-24 hasn’t started out well. But Joshua Roy continues to shine. On Friday, he scored his first hat trick and had a career-best five-point night against the Rochester Americans.

Thankfully, he’s been a revelation and kept the optimism throughout the fanbase alive. Roy hasn’t skipped a beat from junior hockey to the American Hockey League. And one thing is certain, he appears to be a steal of a pick in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.

I’ve written about his strong play in the junior ranks and consistent strong play throughout the Canadiens training camp. The most impressive thing about Roy’s season is how comfortable he has looked. The way he processes each play with the puck, it seems like he is playing chess while opponents are playing checkers.

Career Night Vs. Rochester Americans

With Kirby Dach out long term, and Kaiden Guhle out as well, the mood has been sombre in la belle province. Local talent like Roy seems to have the ‘it’ factor, however, and kept the province and fanbase from imploding after a less-than-ideal start to the season. Roy has played five games and scored nine points (five goals & four assists).

He leads the team in the goals department, one ahead of Joel Armia. And he is in a three-way tie for the most assists on the team with Mitchell Stephens and Brandon Gignac, each with four. Five of those came on Friday night, in a game that Roy dominated.

Roy potted his first goal of the evening with just over two minutes to go in the second period. His marker came on the man advantage, with assists going to Stephens and Gignac.

Four minutes and 12 seconds into the third period Roy scored his second goal of the night. Sean Farrell assisted on the tally.

The hat trick goal, which was his fifth point, came 32 seconds after his powerplay marker. Condotta assisted on the marker, giving him two points on the night, and Jayden Struble had the other assist.

He started his night with an assist on Lucas Condotta’s goal. The tally came just eight seconds before the teams headed for the first intermission.

Roy’s second assist of the night came two minutes and seventeen seconds into the second frame. He set up a Sean Farrell goal, which was his first career AHL goal.

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Another impressive game and a brilliant performance for the 20-year-old. Who’s confidence appears to be growing with each game played. It’s been a tough start to the season, but Roy has been a pleasant story for the organization.

Roy was the first star of the game, and he now leads the league in points with 9, which is three ahead of Buffalo Sabres prospect Jiri Kulich.

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