The sky looks gloomy in Long Island as the New York Islanders‘ current six-game slump dims their playoff hopes in the 2024-25 NHL season. Head coach Patrick Roy blew a fuse after the brutal 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, with forward Anthony Duclair bearing the brunt of his frustration.
Duclair’s NHL journey has been nothing short of a whirlwind of emotions. The 29-year-old speedster has struggled to find a place to call home in the league, with his best years being in Sunrise with the Florida Panthers. However, since being traded from South Florida, he’s struggled to find his footing.
He has certainly failed to assert his place in Long Island with the Islanders. His style of play hasn’t translated positively into Roy’s system, and his production has been extremely disappointing. Through 44 games, ‘The Duke’ registers just 11 points, with four goals and seven assists.
Duclair played the least shifts out of every forward on Roy’s team, with just 12 during the 4-1 defeat on home-ice. Following the brutal loss, the Isles’ head coach didn’t mince words about Duclair’s performance against the Lightning, dropping a candid confession.
Anthony Duclair #11 of the New York Islanders skates to a puck during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on March 09, 2025 in Anaheim, California.
“He was god awful. He had a bad game,” Patrick Roy said during his postgame media availability, via Bleacher Report. “That’s why I didn’t play him a lot. And he’s lucky to be in the lineup. Sorry if I lose it on him right now, but that’s how I feel.”
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Clean up on Isles’ messes
During the 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay at UBS Arena, Duclair endured another lackluster performance. His poor backchecking was put on evidence during the Lightning’s game-winning goal—his delayed skate back to the defensive zone allowed Jake Guentzel to station himself in front of the crease, leaving Ilya Sorokin helpless.
Tampa doubled their lead after an errant dump in from Adam Pelech led to a three-on-one opportunity for the Lightning, which Victor Hedman capitalized.
“We gave up, what, two scoring chances that second period. But when we make a mistake, we make a pretty good one,” Roy added. “We give up a 3-on-1, we leave someone all alone in front of the net. I mean, these are mistakes that we can’t make if we want to win against a team like that. I mean, Point and Kucherov, those two guys, if you give them time and space and chances, they’re burying.”
Head coach of the New York Islanders Patrick Roy talks with the media following the game against the Colorado Avalanche at UBS Arena on January 28, 2025 in Elmont, New York.
Wake-up call
As the Islanders are now five points behind the second wild card berth in the Eastern Conference, there season’s hopes are getting slimmer by the second. With no margin of error left, the Isles must snap their six-game losing skid and go on a miraculous run to have a chance at a postseason spot.
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“It wasn’t good enough,” Bo Horvat stated, via NHL.com. “At the end of the day, we’re doing it to ourselves. We’re just making the wrong plays and the wrong mistakes at the wrong time. I mean, I don’t think they outplayed us by any means tonight. We make the same mistakes over and over again that are costing us. At the end of the day, at this time of year, we’re trying to make a push here. It’s just not good enough.”
