The concept Anthony Duclair would walk on this season as if he hadn’t missed a step, put the injury-addled mess that was 2024-25 behind him and be the 25-goal, 40-plus-point player the Islanders thought they were signing in July 2024 was all the time fanciful, even for essentially the most optimistic observer.
Still, 11 games into the Islanders’ season, the state of play for Duclair doesn’t look that a lot better than it did last March, when he was playing his way into coach Patrick Roy’s public ire on a torn groin.
The 30-year-old Duclair has three points in 11 games, and on a per-60-minute basis is barely scraping a greater scoring rate than he did last season — 1.1 points vs. 1.0. It’s not only the dearth of points, either. Duclair is disappearing for games at a time.
He has an abysmal 35.28 expected goals rate at five-on-five, and that’s despite playing a major chunk of minutes alongside Mat Barzal, whose 47.47 xGF rate is fifth on the Islanders.
After an unproductive spell on Barzal’s wing, Duclair was dropped from the highest line to the fourth, and bumped off the second power-play unit, for Friday night’s 3-1 win over Washington to make room for Cal Ritchie, and it’s getting easy to wonder if Max Shabanov’s eventual return from an upper-body injury will lead to his spot within the lineup becoming in danger.
“I believe it’s improving each game,” Duclair told The Post last week when asked to judge his game. “I believe it’s improving each game. Feeling increasingly confident as we go along here.
“Personally, I could possibly be more aggressive. Get to the online more, get some shots off. By way of how I’m feeling, I’m feeling great. No complaints. I just wish to keep improving day by day.”
The groin, he said, is totally tremendous, though like many players coming off long-term injuries, perhaps there’s still a level of confidence missing from Duclair’s game.
“It’s hard getting back from injury,” Kyle Palmieri, who has done so greater than once and who until Friday was on Duclair’s line, told The Post. “It’s something that, you’re all the time noticing it. I believe with a component of the body you would like lots as a hockey player, it’s hard to not give attention to that and dwell on it, even coming back and you understand it’s healthy.”
Unlike players who get hurt in the midst of a season, Duclair had a full summer — albeit one he’s admitted didn’t go as planned — and a full training camp to get right. He wasn’t jumping on a moving train.
“Speed-wise, I believe it’s there,” Duclair said. “Doing every part possible when it comes to preparation to be ready for games, practices, stuff like that. I believe my skating’s pretty good. Just gotta use it more efficiently at times.”
What exactly does that mean?
“I don’t think picking your spots is the word for it,” Palmieri said. “I believe giving himself the chance to be in open ice and use his speed and his skill is something that, I believe as your profession goes on, you end up more comfortable and possibly not fascinated about it as much. But whenever you miss time like that, the way in which he had last yr, it’s hard to get that timing back.”
One thing here is fairly certain: The fourth line doesn’t seem to be a everlasting solution.
Duclair, at his best, plays a game of speed, skill and scoring. There’s little point in having him play the fourth line, as his 9:13 of ice time Friday betrayed.
If he can’t force his way off it, then it’s fair to wonder what comes next.
The concept Anthony Duclair would walk on this season as if he hadn’t missed a step, put the injury-addled mess that was 2024-25 behind him and be the 25-goal, 40-plus-point player the Islanders thought they were signing in July 2024 was all the time fanciful, even for essentially the most optimistic observer.
Still, 11 games into the Islanders’ season, the state of play for Duclair doesn’t look that a lot better than it did last March, when he was playing his way into coach Patrick Roy’s public ire on a torn groin.
The 30-year-old Duclair has three points in 11 games, and on a per-60-minute basis is barely scraping a greater scoring rate than he did last season — 1.1 points vs. 1.0. It’s not only the dearth of points, either. Duclair is disappearing for games at a time.
He has an abysmal 35.28 expected goals rate at five-on-five, and that’s despite playing a major chunk of minutes alongside Mat Barzal, whose 47.47 xGF rate is fifth on the Islanders.
After an unproductive spell on Barzal’s wing, Duclair was dropped from the highest line to the fourth, and bumped off the second power-play unit, for Friday night’s 3-1 win over Washington to make room for Cal Ritchie, and it’s getting easy to wonder if Max Shabanov’s eventual return from an upper-body injury will lead to his spot within the lineup becoming in danger.
“I believe it’s improving each game,” Duclair told The Post last week when asked to judge his game. “I believe it’s improving each game. Feeling increasingly confident as we go along here.
“Personally, I could possibly be more aggressive. Get to the online more, get some shots off. By way of how I’m feeling, I’m feeling great. No complaints. I just wish to keep improving day by day.”
The groin, he said, is totally tremendous, though like many players coming off long-term injuries, perhaps there’s still a level of confidence missing from Duclair’s game.
“It’s hard getting back from injury,” Kyle Palmieri, who has done so greater than once and who until Friday was on Duclair’s line, told The Post. “It’s something that, you’re all the time noticing it. I believe with a component of the body you would like lots as a hockey player, it’s hard to not give attention to that and dwell on it, even coming back and you understand it’s healthy.”
Unlike players who get hurt in the midst of a season, Duclair had a full summer — albeit one he’s admitted didn’t go as planned — and a full training camp to get right. He wasn’t jumping on a moving train.
“Speed-wise, I believe it’s there,” Duclair said. “Doing every part possible when it comes to preparation to be ready for games, practices, stuff like that. I believe my skating’s pretty good. Just gotta use it more efficiently at times.”
What exactly does that mean?
“I don’t think picking your spots is the word for it,” Palmieri said. “I believe giving himself the chance to be in open ice and use his speed and his skill is something that, I believe as your profession goes on, you end up more comfortable and possibly not fascinated about it as much. But whenever you miss time like that, the way in which he had last yr, it’s hard to get that timing back.”
One thing here is fairly certain: The fourth line doesn’t seem to be a everlasting solution.
Duclair, at his best, plays a game of speed, skill and scoring. There’s little point in having him play the fourth line, as his 9:13 of ice time Friday betrayed.
If he can’t force his way off it, then it’s fair to wonder what comes next.
