CALGARY, Alberta — The vision of Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal on the top line together seemed like it had died an untimely death when Duclair tore his groin five games into last season.
The Islanders briefly tried it again at the start of this season but quickly went away from it.
In fact, Duclair’s time as a regular in the top six appeared to be pretty much over after that. Aside from a three-game stint on the second line while Bo Horvat was injured in December, he was floating between the third and fourth lines and occasionally out of the lineup entirely.
Maybe, Barzal posited Friday, the two games Duclair spent as a healthy scratch has something to do with his torrid streak since, which amounts to his best five-game stretch as an Islander by an order of magnitude.
“I think sometimes as a player, even when I got scratched this year [as punishment for being late to the bus] — he was out of the lineup for [two games] — sometimes it’s just a reset,” Barzal told The Post after the Islanders finished practice at the Saddledome. “Mentally, you come back stronger. You never want to take being in the lineup for granted.
“He came back and, absolutely dynamite. Really taking advantage of his opportunities. He’s a sharp shooter. His game has been great since he’s been back.”
And because Duclair has found his scoring touch, with five goals in his last five, including the game-winner Thursday night in Edmonton, it’s given coach Patrick Roy reason to reunite Duclair and Barzal on the top line with Anders Lee.
That trio will play its fourth straight game together Saturday afternoon against the Flames, having acquitted itself well in a series of tough matchups so far on this road trip. Duclair, for his part, has looked like an entirely different player since scoring a hat trick in a 9-0 rout of the Devils upon returning to the lineup.
“I think that game gave him some confidence,” coach Patrick Roy said. “He’s been scoring almost every game lately. He scored in Winnipeg, scored last night [in Edmonton]. So it’s nice to see some offense coming from him and the way he’s been playing. It’s always nice to see someone be rewarded with it.”
The Islanders have been searching for someone to nail down the spot that formerly belonged to Kyle Palmieri in the top six ever since the winger tore his ACL in mid-November. With Horvat injured again and Jonathan Drouin’s production lagging, that’s become even more crucial.
Maybe the answer is presenting itself in Duclair, the player who was originally signed to fill exactly that role.
“I think Dukie brings skill and good goal scoring,” Barzal said. “I think he’s better down low than people give him credit for. I think he’s been great.
“These road games are tough. We’ve had some tough matchups [as a line]. In Minnesota, we got [Kirill] Kaprizov and [Quinn] Hughes. In Winnipeg, [Mark] Scheifele] and [Josh] Morrissey. Last night with [Connor] McDavid and [Leon] Draisaitl. Maybe we haven’t produced 3-4 goals a game, but I think we’re generating consistent offense.”
Indeed, those matchups have kept the top line’s offensive output largely off the rush. They had more chances than any other line Thursday, but most were one-and-done chances. Barzal isn’t worried about that, at least not for the time being.
“I’d like to be in the O-zone the entire game. Sometimes it just presents itself that way,” Barzal said. “Would be nice to sustain a little more O-zone [time], get those second pucks. But not too much of a concern just yet.”
