On Thursday morning, Anthony Duclair repeatedly described his condition as “good enough to play.” And now, nearly a full month after his return from a suspected groin injury, the results confirm what anyone watching could already tell.
Duclair, who was signed as the Islanders' marquee player on July 1, is not himself.
He's not skating with the power or speed characteristic of his game, and he's not playing with the impact the Isles need him to have.
Coach Patrick Roy used him on the third line for the second year in a row against the Flyers on Thursday, but the head coach said he was trying to give him some of the responsibility in hopes of getting him back into rhythm. Ta.
“It's tough,” Duclair said before the Isles lost 5-3 to the Flyers. “It's hard. I'm trying my best, but the game is based on speed. My skates have a lot of power and obviously I use my legs a lot. It was tough coming back because I was injured. I still feel it. I don't use it as an excuse at all. I just think I need to play better.”
Needless to say, no one expected this to be the first game of Duclair's four-year contract to be played on Long Island.
The Islanders can't claim ignorance about Duclair's injury history, but he has remained a generally productive goal scorer nonetheless.
So far this year, he's put the puck in the net three times in 15 games, but hasn't scored in eight straight games since Thursday.
Duclair didn't directly answer whether he was still playing through the pain, only reiterating that he felt well enough to play, which was an admission in itself.
“We had a conversation with him about being a little stronger on the wall and his level of competition,” Roy said. “Please be more careful with pack management, entries, etc. Make it simpler.”
Roy said he thought the referees did the right thing when Max Tsyplakov hit Ryan Poehling early in Thursday's game by initially giving Tsyplakov a significant penalty and then reversing the call on review.
“I understand John. [Tortorella] It's frustrating to see your players get hurt, but at the same time I agree with the call on the ice,'' Roy said. “I saw exactly the same thing as the referee.”
Ilya Sorokin returned to the Islanders' crease on Thursday after missing the past two games due to illness.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau also returned after being absent with illness on Tuesday night.
Alexander Romanov (upper body) participated in Thursday morning's skate with full contact, but missed the game and remained for the day.
Simon Holmstrom (upper body) skated with the team in an orange non-contact jersey for the first time since his injury.
