NEWARK, NJ — Anthony Duclair was benched mid-game for the second time in seven outings during the New York Islanders’ 5-4 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
For Thursday night’s final game before the three-week Winter Olympic break, he was scratched from the lineup by head coach Patrick Roy, who opted to go for Calum Ritchie after an ahead-of-schedule recovery from a lower-body injury.
“It’s never easy right now because everybody’s playing so well,” Roy said as to why Duclair was scratched. “But having Ritchie back and putting him in the middle, it was just a decision thinking ‘OK, let’s try this.’ And then we’ll see how it goes. But nothing there other than that we wanted to go with the guys who are in the lieup tonight.”
Duclair’s benchings have been predicated on an inability to fulfill his defensive duties. He failed to backcheck on a late second-period Buffalo Sabres goal in transition in a 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 24, which resulted in him and his linemates, Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee, being benched for the entire third period.
On Tuesday, he failed to track Anthony Mantha in front of Ilya Sorokin’s net, and the Penguins’ forward was able to pop a quick one-timer from point-blank range into the back of the net for the game’s opening goal.
Following one more shift, he was benched with 3:17 left in the first period and did not see the ice again, and now won’t take it in a competitive setting until after the Olympic break at the end of the month.
When asked on Thursday how he has responded to the benchings, Roy said, Duclair ‘has been perfect, and he’ll be fine. I have zero concern about him. He’ll be fine.”
But this is just the latest blemish on what has developed into a tumultuous stint with the Islanders for Duclair, who is in the second year of a four-year, $14 million contract with a full no-trade clause.
While dealing with a groin injury, he scored just seven goals in 44 games last year, which featured Roy calling his play “god-awful” following an April 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He subsequently took a personal leave of absence to end his season away from the team.
Roy extended an olive branch over the summer by driving to Montreal to apologize for those comments. But this season, in addition to the mid-game benchings, he has been a healthy scratch four times.
“The accountability is important for everyone,” Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said last week when asked about the initial benchings. “Where I came from, the top scorer of the team sometimes gets benched once a year. It’s not because you’re mad at them, it’s just there’s accountability… Sometimes you have to do what has to be done. I think the guys all know that it doesn’t matter who you are, you have to be held accountable.”
