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More than once Thursday morning, Anthony Duclair described his condition as ”good enough to play” — and nearly a full month after his return from a suspected groin injury, it served to confirm what anyone watching can see.
Duclair, the Islanders’ marquee July 1 signing, is not himself.
He’s not skating with the power or speed typical to his game, and he’s not playing with the sort of impact the Isles need from him.
Thursday’s game against the Flyers was the second in a row in which Patrick Roy had him on the third line, which the head coach said was about trying to give him a little less responsibility in the hopes that he can recover some rhythm.
“It’s tough,” Duclair said before the Isles lost, 5-3, to the Flyers. “It’s tough. Trying my best, but the game’s based on speed. The way I skate is a lot of power, obviously using a lot of my legs. With my injury, it was tough to come back. Still feeling it. I’m not using it as an excuse at all. I think I just need to play better.”
Needless to say, this isn’t how anyone figured the first of a four-year deal for Duclair would go on Long Island.
The Islanders can’t plead ignorance on Duclair’s injury history, but he’s generally remained a productive goal scorer despite that.
So far this year, he’s put the puck in the net three times in 15 games, with no points at all in eight straight after Thursday.
Duclair wouldn’t directly answer whether he’s still playing through pain right now, only repeating that he’s feeling good enough to play, but that was an admission unto itself.
“I had that conversation with him about being a little stronger on the wall and his compete level,” Roy said. “Be more cautious of the puck management and the entry and stuff like this. Make it more simple.”
Roy said he thought the referees handled Max Tsyplakov’s hit on Ryan Poehling early in Thursday’s game correctly by initially giving Tsyplakov a major penalty, then reversing the call upon review.
“I understand John [Tortorella] to be mad about seeing his player being hurt, but at the same time, I agree with the call on the ice,” Roy said. “I saw the exact same thing as the referees.”
Ilya Sorokin returned to the Islanders’ crease Thursday after missing the past two games with an illness.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was out Tuesday night with an illness, was also back.
Alexander Romanov (upper body) was a full-contact participant in Thursday morning’s skate, but missed the game and remained day-to-day.
Simon Holmstrom (upper body) skated with the team in an orange non-contact jersey for the first time since getting hurt.
