The Florida Panthers are just one win away from advancing to the National League Eastern Conference Finals and one of the reasons for their success is Anthony Duclair.
The Quebecer has clearly made a comeback after suffering an Achilles tendon injury last offseason. The striker had to undergo an operation and wait until February 24 before playing his first match of the campaign. However, if he lived ups and downs in the last stretch of the regular calendar, he is worth his weight in gold in the playoffs. The 27-year-old skater has scored five points in his last six outings to help his team ride a winning streak.
In Game 3 of the series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, he tied the game by taking advantage of a breakaway early in the second period; Florida eventually won 3-2 in overtime. His trio completed by Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe was much more visible than the opponent’s guns.
“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, Duclair praised, as reported by floridahockeynow.com. I watched the videos in order to learn how to follow the game system, even better than in the season. This is also the time when you want to play.
Also, the former Ottawa Senators among others seems more like the one who scored 31 goals in 2021-2022. “I feel great. It took me a lot of work to get there, of course. However, it comes at the perfect time, not just for me, but for everyone. Individually, we all stand together and it’s great, ”he analyzed.
Improvement in defense
Defensively, Duclair also says he is gaining strength. His differential of -5 does not necessarily illustrate his work lost in recent days: the record is more the result of his start to the series against the Boston Bruins, since he finished at -2 in each of his first three games. Nevertheless, he has tweaked a few aspects of his game and his line likes to apply forechecks to undermine the enemy’s main offensive weapons. It all paid off on the Panthers’ second net on Sunday, scored by Verhaeghe.
“I’m gaining confidence inside the defensive zone. I put the sticks in the right place and silence these guys. It gives me confidence once I get into opposing territory. And the longer we are there, the harder it will be for them, considered the Quebecer. We all know talented hockey players don’t want to play defense. So our plan is to get out of our zone as quickly as possible, create uphill scoring opportunities and maintain the threat up front.”
The fourth game of the series will be broadcast on TVA Sports on Wednesday at 7 p.m.