The Florida Panthers are just one win away from reaching the National League Eastern Conference Finals, and Anthony Duclair is one of the reasons for their success.
The Quebecer has clearly made a comeback after suffering an Achilles tendon injury last offseason. The forward had to undergo surgery and wait until February 24 before playing his first game of the season. However, if he’s had ups and downs in the final stretch of the regular calendar, he’s worth his weight in gold in the playoffs. The 27-year-old skater has five points in his last six games to help his team on a winning streak.
In Game 3 of the series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, he leveled the game by taking advantage of a runaway early in the second period; Florida eventually won 3-2 in overtime. His trio, completed by Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe, was clearly more visible than the opponent’s artillery.
“I’m starting to feel better. It’s obviously been hard to miss most of the year except my linemates give me so much confidence as does the coaching staff, praised Duclair, as reported by floridahockeynow.com. I watched the videos to learn how to follow the game system, even better than the season. This is also the time you want to play.
Also, the former Ottawa senator seems more likely to be the one to score 31 goals in 2021-2022 among others. “I feel great. Of course it took me a lot of work to get there. However, it comes at the perfect time, not only for me but for everyone. Individually we are all together and that’s great,” he analyzed.
improvement of defense
Defensively, Duclair also says he’s gaining strength. His -5 difference doesn’t necessarily explain his work lost over the past few days: the record is more a result of his start to the series against the Boston Bruins, as he finished -2 in each of his first three games. Nonetheless, he has tweaked some aspects of his game, and his line likes to use forechecks to undermine the enemy’s key offensive weapons. It paid off with the Panthers’ second net on Sunday, scored by Verhaeghe.
“I’m gaining confidence in the defensive zone. I’ll put the sticks in the right place and shut up these guys. It gives me confidence once I get into enemy territory. And the longer we’re there, the harder it’s going to be for them, the Quebecer says. We all know that talented hockey players don’t want to defend. So our plan is to get out of our zone as quickly as possible, create scoring chances upstairs and keep the threat up front.”
The fourth game in the series will air Wednesday at 7pm on TVA Sports.