New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair had drawn the ire of head coach Patrick Roy, and now he found the press box on game night.
Duclair was made a healthy scratch for Monday night’s clash with the rival Rangers at Madison Square Garden — a significant benching for a player who signed a four-year contract over the summer to be the Islanders’ first-line winger alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal.
Things have not materialized as such, though. Duclair had dealt with a lower-body injury that held him out for 28 games earlier this season, only to come back for a handful of games and watch as Barzal was sidelined indefinitely due to a knee injury that needed a minor procedure in early February.
When he has been on the ice, his play has been disappointing. In 30 games this season, he has just five goals with four assists — a far cry from the 24-goal scorer last season with the San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning or the 31-goal scorer from 2021-22 with the Florida Panthers.
“I think it’s a mixture of [the previous injury and his current play],” Roy said (h/t Islanders official site). “The fact that he missed a lot of games, conditioning, and all this. I think it’s good for him to practice and skate. we’re going to need him down the road… He needs to practice hard and be ready when he plays.”
He received just one shift in the final 10:50 of the Islanders’ 7-4 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon at UBS Arena, the final act of an 11-game stretch that featured just one goal and zero assists.
“I’m not happy with his play,” Roy said on Saturday night. “I expect more from him.”
The decision to bench a potential top-six winger at this time of the season is somewhat of a risky one for an Islanders team that needs all the talent and firepower possible to turn their season around. With the NHL’s trade deadline looming this Friday, New York is five points out of the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, with five teams sitting between them and the Detroit Red Wings, who hold that final berth.
A bad week would likely seal the Islanders’ fate this season and potentially prompt general manager Lou Lamoriello to sell off some core pieces.
