DeBoer Praises Duclair's Efforts In Win, His Start To Season

The New York Islanders blew away the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 Thursday night inside UBS Arena.

Anthony Duclair notched his first goal of the season. 

The goal came off of his hard work starting in the neutral zone. The Islanders had just chipped it out to center ice, clearing it out of the zone with Matthew Schaefer out for a prolonged shift.

Duclair then took off with his patented speed. He won a race to the puck against Artyom Levshunov. Duclair broke for the net, on a breakaway with Levshunov draped on his back.

As Duclair tried to cut around Hawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom, Levhsunov hooked him, which drew a penalty.

Right there, Duclair could've given up on the play, and it still would've been just fine. New York already had one power play goal and led 2-0.

Duclair, however, kept moving his feet. He maintained possession of the puck through contact, and found Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Pageau then found Logan Stanley flying in at the point. Duclair, meanwhile, snuck behind the net and found himself wide open on the backdoor.

Stanley, without even looking, fed Duclair.

Duclair made no mistake, notching his first of the season. That goal also snapped an 18-game goalless drought for Duclair. His last goal came on January 21 last season. 

Here's the full clip of the goal:

Postgame, the Islanders locker room gave Duclair the team's victory Oar. That oar is given to the player who, in captain Bo Horvat's words, "makes the boat go faster, as DeBoer talked about in training camp."

Duclair's efforts did not go unnoticed by his teammates. Nor did they go unnoticed by DeBoer himself.

"I thought he had an excellent camp," DeBoer said postgame. "I thought he was great the first two games. I thought he took a step back in the Ranger game, and I talked to him this morning and said, 'I need you to get back to what you were doing because he was becoming a really important part of our group,' and he responded tonight.

"He did a great job, and I'm glad he got rewarded because that's a little while coming. He could have had a couple in the first couple of games."

That level of praise, confidence and trust from his coach is something Duclair could use. 

When Duclair's at his best, he's flying around all over the ice, making plays, and, well, making the team's boat go faster.

His confidence is key. Duclair looked like a player with confidence in himself last night. The Islanders can use more and more of that.