ELMONT, NY — Anthony Duclair’s first two seasons with the New York Islanders have been anything but easy.
Between injuries, inconsistent play, a leave of absence to end the 2024-25 season, and multiple benchings, all signs pointed to him playing his hockey elsewhere this year. But new head coach Pete DeBoer has provided another opportunity for the veteran winger, and suddenly, it all feels quite different.
The sample size is limited given that the Islanders are just four games into the 2026-27 campaign, but Duclair looks like a different player who is consistently motivated.
“For sure [it feels different],” Duclair said after scoring in Thursday night’s 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. “I feel healthy, I feel good, I feel confident. More importantly, we’re playing well as a team and we’re buying into the system that Pete’s brought here.”
His motor has a lot more life to it; he’s shown more of a willingness to backcheck, and he’s showing more aggression and verve in his offensive game. Playing alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom, the good nights are stacking up.
“I thought he had an excellent camp, I thought he was great the first two games, but then he took a step back in the Ranger game [on Tuesday],” DeBoer said. “I talked to him this morning and said, ‘I need you to get back to what you were doing’ because he was becoming a real important part of our group. He responded.”
Duclair notched a well-deserved first goal of the season in the Islanders’ 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at UBS Arena, converting a play that he might not have come close to completing in either of the past two years.
Midway through the second period, Matthew Schaefer sent an alley-oop pass from the New York zone over the Chicago defense and into the path of a streaking Duclair. Wrapped up by a defender attempting to track back, he was unable to get a shot off, though he did draw a penalty while sliding behind the goal to the back wall.
But Duclair stayed with the play and managed to keep the puck until reinforcements arrived. He sent a feed in front to Pageau, then made his way to the right post. Pageau fed the trailing defenseman Logan Stanley, who faked a shot and found Duclair wide-open for an easy conversion.
“After I missed there, it was a great play by Pager just to make himself available and put himself in the right area,” Duclair said. “Then a great pass to Stanley, and then Stan made a great play to me there at the backdoor. All I had to do was put it in.”
“I’m glad he got rewarded because it’s been a little while coming,” DeBoer added.
That alley-oop scheme started by Schaefer looks like a set piece for Duclair. The Islanders (2-2-0, 4 points) attempted it three times on Thursday night, and each one carried some form of malice.
“It’s part of the game plan,” Duclair said with a smile. “I love when the defensemen do that. I just tell them to put it in an area, and I’ll use my speed. And also just getting the puck out is the biggest thing. For me, just helping out the D any way I can.”
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Bo Horvat was forced to leave after scoring his second goal of the night with 1:33 remaining, after Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar delivered a shoulder to the Islanders captain’s head.
He was slow to get up, but then ultimately started mixing it up with Chicago defenseman Bowen Byram while the rest of his linemates attempted to go after Nazar, who received a five-minute match misconduct penalty and now faces a suspension. Horvat was then sent down the tunnel, presumably by the team’s concussion spotter, for testing.
Following the game, DeBoer said that Horvat was still being evaluated and did not have any updates.
“I don’t like that hit, especially that time of the game and who it’s on,” DeBoer said. “I think [the referees] got the call right. We’ll see, but you don’t like to see that on anybody.”
For more on Anthony Duclair and the Islanders, visit AMNY.com
