Anthony Duclair has been through many injuries and knows that returning mid-season is rarely a smooth process.
He was sidelined for two months with a suspected groin injury and was undergoing rehabilitation, but was told it would take time for him to return to full normalcy.
In that sense, it's no shock that Duclair's long-awaited return to action only thwarted the Islanders' comeback — he has three points in five games prior to Thursday's home game against the Maple Leafs. The number of points is 29 points is too low — A one-year-old child drives and plays and hits along the wall.
“I feel like [the injury] For a little while — I'm definitely, obviously, good enough to play,'' Duclair told the Post on Thursday morning. “For me, it's just trying to get my timing back and get some chemistry with some guys. Obviously, playing with different linemates. To be honest, just trying to find my rhythm. I just feel more confident with the puck in battles and things like that.”
Here, the situation the Islanders have found themselves in during Duclair's (and Matt Barzal's) long absence has put them in a predicament.
For players who have missed time, it is not unusual for them to take several weeks, sometimes longer, to become their true selves.
But the Islanders, 14-17-7 entering Thursday, are in no position to preach patience.
They cannot tell themselves that the results will come someday. Because it doesn't matter if you start winning a month from now. Because the season is already over.
At the same time, there really is no other choice.
“Sometimes you just have to be patient,” coach Patrick Roy said. “He hasn't skated in over six weeks. But he needs to get some things taken care of, and he'll be fine.”
The head coach specifically mentioned Duclair's play along the wall and said the two talked about it Thursday morning after Tuesday's chaotic 3-1 loss to the Leafs.
“I think every injury is definitely a different process and a different rehab,” Duclair said. “If it's your lower body as opposed to your upper body, obviously you can't skate and you can't get the condition you want. That's just the part that you get over time by continuing to play the game.”
Roy also refused to reunite the trio of Duclair, Bo Horvat and Barzal, who looked all over training camp as if it had been written in permanent marker.
The head coach said his priority right now is to have Barzal play his natural center position and expand the Islanders' center depth in order to create better matchups.
One of the necessary tradeoffs, however, is forcing Duclair to go through this process while playing with players with little to no experience.
Initially, Roy had Duclair with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri upon his return. On Tuesday in Toronto, that changed to a line of Horvat and Casey Cizikas, and it remained that way Thursday.
No matter what the lineup is, the Islanders have used up all of their Jokers this season.
There is no time to wait for more stable results.
Duclair's first game back in action, a 6-3 win over the Leafs on Dec. 21, has been repeatedly cited as a model.
But the Isles have yet to return to the level they reached that night.
“That's what we're trying to do,” Duclair said. “I don't know why we wouldn't do it. We all know what we have to do. We all know we're a good team. We have a good team in this locker room. We have great players, we have good leadership, and we know what we have to do because we know we can do it and we have the ability to do it. Because I have shown it.”
