Patrick Roy will almost certainly survive his first season as Avalanche coach, but his voice might not. Roy gave his lungs quite a workout Wednesday night, and this was just the first preseason game.

Whether barking out high-pitched vocal commands or a whistle louder than any that could be found in a store, Roy’s presence definitely was felt in his maiden game behind an NHL bench.

A lot of hockey coaches strangely tend to be very quiet and stationary during a game. Not Roy. Not only are his vocal cords in full use, Roy is always walking back and forth, rarely standing still for more than a second.

Against the Anaheim Ducks at the Pepsi Center, Roy showed the full range of emotions too. He often seemed happy with what he saw, but when he wasn’t, it was obvious.

In the end, Roy lost his first game, but at least it didn’t count. The Ducks got a 2-1 victory over the Avs in front of a smallish crowd.

When the Avs were pinned in their own zone for nearly a minute on a penalty kill in the first period, Roy put his hands on his hips and scurried back and forth to assistant coach Tim Army, gesturing pointedly.

Roy, who signed a four-year contract to serve as coach and vice president of hockey operations, made clear to his team that exhibition games are important if it is to begin the turnaround to prosperity.

Roy wants to win as many games as he can, but he also wants his team to be worth the money to see.

“I like to be offensive,” Roy said. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want us to play well defensively. We’re going to be an offensive team, because I believe that the people who are paying to come watch us deserve to have a great show. At the same time, we have to believe deep inside that we can win that 1-0 game.”

Roy got a good look at prized rookie Nathan MacKinnon, who centered a line with P.A. Parenteau and Jamie McGinn. He also saw a lot of rookie defenseman Chris Bigras, a second-round pick from this year who signed a three-year, entry-level contract Tuesday.

Bigras, who may have a real shot at making the club despite being 18, played alongside Erik Johnson.

“My goal is to stay here,” Bigras said. “I know this is an opportunity, and I want to make the most of it I can. But that will be out of my control in the end. I just have to play as hard as I can and try to learn a little more every day.”

Another star of Wednesday’s show was the big, bright new overhead scoreboard at the Pepsi Center. The scoreboard dramatically enhanced the atmosphere inside the 14-year-old building. The main board stretches from blue line to blue line, with an HD picture that is hard not to want to watch instead of the actual game below.

Paul Stastny scored the first Avs goal of the preseason in the first period, deflecting in a pass from Gabe Landeskog. Semyon Varlamov looked sharp in his first full period, stopping all nine shots he faced, including some on three Anaheim power plays.

The Avs will play Los Angeles at home Friday, with a lineup that will include Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly and Steve Downie, none of whom played Wednesday.

The Avs lost the game when Anaheim scored a power-play goal with 5:56 left in the third, following a Cody McLeod boarding penalty.

Adrian Dater: adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater