TORONTO — After eight weeks, the biggest piece still missing from the Islanders' puzzle has finally clicked back into place.
Anthony Duclair made his long-awaited return to action for the Isles on Saturday in Toronto, recording an assist as the Islanders defeated the Maple Leafs 6-3.
The win marked the team's first game with a healthy forward group since Duclair was injured on October 19th.
It came quickly as the Islanders put together their most complete effort of the season. When we finally had the complete lineup, it didn't seem like a coincidence.
“It felt good. It's obviously tough coming back after nine weeks, but overall I felt pretty good,” Duclair said in the post after skating in 15 minutes, 14 seconds alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri. told the paper. “My new linemates are trying to find chemistry early on. I thought we had a good first period. Everyone was moving well. I'm really happy to be back and make sure we got the win.” ”
The Islanders are still not 100 percent healthy as Mike Riley (heart) and Semyon Varlamov (lower body) are still out, but after two months in the wilderness, this is more than enough. considered to be in close condition.
It is suspected that Duclair's injury (officially a lower body injury) may have been in the groin area.
He received a medical diagnosis last week, but said before the game that he wanted to get more practice time before returning.
“Once I fell, I knew something was wrong,” Duclair said of the injury. “Something I've never felt before. The moment I walked into the locker room, I knew something was going on because I couldn't skate by myself. Of course I didn't know the timeline. It was shocking when I heard the news.
“We only played five games and the season just started. I felt like we started playing well, we started building chemistry, we started gaining confidence, and things like that happen. That's out of my control. I'm just glad to be back.”
Now he's back and the Islanders finally have the lineup they envisioned months ago.
“He was fast against loose pucks,” coach Patrick Roy said of Duclair. “I thought he was a huge help to the Nelson team, and I think the more we played together, the more comfortable he felt.”
After missing the past two games, Isaiah George returned to the lineup in the third pair with Scott Mayfield and scored his first NHL goal.
Dennis Cholowski was a healthy scratch.
Roy left open starter Marcus Hogberg at one point, but Ilya Sorokin scored in 10 straight games and made 26 saves.
Pierre Engvall was a casualty in the lineup when Duclair returned, and he was a healthy scratch against his old team, the Maple Leafs.
