Islanders need Anthony Duclair to pick up pace after his return from injury

LAS VEGAS — It’s all interconnected for the Islanders.

More offense will, theoretically, begat more wins for a team that will be bidding for just its third  two-game winning streak — their season’s best — on Thursday night against NHL-leading Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.

And for the offense to purr at maximum strength, Anthony Duclair must be a key contributor.

Duclair, a key offseason free-agent signing who suffered a lower-body injury just five games into his tenure on Long Island, will play his eighth game since returning to the lineup. He has one goal and two assists in that span but has gone four games now without a point.

“I feel more comfortable, it’s going to take some time,” Duclair told Newsday after the Islanders skated on Wednesday at the Golden Knights’ practice facility. “It’s just a question of repetition, more practice time. It will come over time, for sure.

“It’s physical, for sure. The injury is still healing. It’s going to be healing all season. It’s something that’s going to linger on. At the same time, I’m feeling more and more comfortable each and every game in battles and stuff like that. I’ve just got to make sure I’m doing the little things right and making sure I’m prepared for my linemates.”

Duclair, who signed a four-year, $14 million deal to join his ninth NHL club in his 11 seasons, skated on Bo Horvat’s line with right wing Kyle Palmieri at Wednesday’s practice. That line debuted as the Islanders opened this three-game road trip with a 5-4 overtime win in Boston on Sunday with Horvat notching two goals, including a shorthanded score.

Duclair also skated two games with Horvat and Casey Cizikas, and four games with Brock Nelson and Palmieri.

“You’ve got to find chemistry with the linemates you’re with,” Duclair said. “When it doesn’t work, it’s going to change. For us, we’re trying to figure out the chemistry and stick with it. Whoever I’m playing with, I want to make sure I’m doing my job for them.”

The Islanders are still tied for 28th in the 32-team NHL with 108 goals (2.7 per game) but there were promising signs in Sunday’s victory after the Islanders totaled four goals in the preceding three-game losing streak. The Islanders had 37 shots on goal against the Bruins and out-attempted them 84-55.

But as the Islanders (15-18-7) reach the midpoint of their season with Game No. 41 — in last place in the Metropolitan Division yet still just five points from the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot — they know these interconnected parts have to start producing wins on a consistent basis before the season really does slip away from them.

“We’re playing good hockey but we’ve just got to get the wins behind it,” Horvat told Newsday. “We can have moral victories and talk about how well we’re playing. But, at the end of the day, we need to get wins and I think that’s all that we’re focusing on here as of late.”

But Horvat definitely believes a healthy Duclair can be part of the solution.

“He’s been great, honestly,” Horvat said. “It’s not easy being out for that long and coming back at this part of the season when everybody is in midseason form. He’s such a fun guy to play with because he just loves to make plays. For a guy like me, trying to get open, he’s always trying to look for me and I respect him a lot for that. He’s a really good team guy. He wants guys to do well.”

“Honestly, I don’t base it on points,” Duclair said. “I base it on my overall performance. When the points come, it’s always nice.”

Coach Patrick Roy has said since Duclair has returned there are parts of his game that still need to improve, such as some plays along the wall.

But Roy has been generally pleased to have the playmaker back trying to make plays for the Islanders.

“I think he’s still got a little bit to get there,” Roy said. “But I like what he does. He’s working hard in practice. He does everything to get himself back in game shape and ready to play. I’m very comfortable with what I’ve seen so far. He’ll be fine. I’m not worried about him at all.”
 Notes & quotes: Forward Brian Pinho, 29, in his second season in the Islanders’ organization, was named as Bridgeport’s lone representative to the AHL All-Star Classic in Palm Desert, California on Feb. 2-3. He has 16 goals and nine assists in 32 games . . . Goalie Ilya Sorokin is expected to start for the 16th time in the last 17 games.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.