Islanders Notebook: Duclair Takes Leave After Roy Rip, Martin Draws Back in

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — The New York Islanders reconvened Thursday morning at Northwell Health Ice Center for practice after their sixth straight defeat on Tuesday night.

The team has seen their playoff odds completely plummet, falling to below two percent as of this morning. Frustration and disappointment have taken over, especially after a lifeless loss on Tuesday night.

Duclair Takes Leave:

After that game, Head Coach Patrick Roy went after Anthony Duclair, ripping his forward to shreds. “He was god awful. He had a bad game, and 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, but that’s how I feel.” Roy continued to unload, “He’s not skating, he’s not competing, he’s not moving his feet. He’s not playing up to what we expect from him. It’s an effort thing.”

All of that led to this morning. Anthony Duclair was not at practice. After the skate, Roy began his presser with this:

“Obviously, you saw that Anthony was not at the practice today. This morning, Anthony and I had a very good conversation, a very positive one, and Anthony asked me to take some time off and reflect. So, obviously, I agreed to that, and we’ll give him all the time that he needs.”

There’s no timetable for Duclair to return, and it would be surprising if he returned at all this season. He and Roy are both locked in long-term, so either leaving would be tough to envision.

Bo Horvat spoke lightly about the situation, saying how hard of an injury a torn groin is to recover from. He praised Duclair’s effort to get back to the team and try to contribute, almost openly clashing with the coach. It makes for an interesting dynamic if nothing else.

Matt Martin Draws Back In:

Matt Martin will be the forward that draws back into the lineup. It’s his first game since way back on January 16. Since then, he’s been a healthy scratch routinely, with a very brief stint on injured reserve around the Trade Deadline.

He will skate on line four, while Maxim Tsyplakov slides up to the second line with Simon Holmstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Speaking about returning to the lineup, Martin said, “Obviously excited to get back in the lineup and play at home. It means a lot. Obviously, any time you can put on this crest and play with your teammates is a pretty special thing. It’s been a little while here. [I’m] looking forward to getting some game action and hopefully contribute.”

Defensively, Roy said one of Scott Mayfield or Mike Reilly will draw back in for Adam Boqvist. Ilya Sorokin is expected to start tomorrow. All things considered, today felt like a very quiet practice. Could have been the rain and dreary weather outside, but the Islanders did not showcase a ton of energy this morning.