Patrick Roy likes what he's seen from his two injured forwards since they've returned, even if they're still trying to find their "A" game.
New York Islanders fans had to wait a good amount of time to see Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair back in action after both fell victim to longer-term injuries in October.
Both have been back for a bit now, but because they missed so much game action —Barzal missed 21 games, and Duclair missed 29—their games aren't completely back to where they'd want them to be.
It's taken them time to find their game.
Barzal has just one goal in nine games, an empty-net tally, since returning from his upper-body injury. He has not skated with Bo Horvat since returning, playing a majority of those games alongside Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau as a centerman for the first time, consistently, since before Horvat's arrival on Long Island.
However, in their 5-4 overtime win against the Boston Bruins, Barzal skated on the wing alongside Brock Nelson and Lee:
While the Islanders would love to see the goals coming, No. 13 is on a point streak with an assist in each of the last three games, with five points over his last seven games (one goal, four assists).
Barzal is incredibly hard on himself, but head coach Patrick Roy hasn't seen any frustration boil over from his star forward.
"No. Zero. He's been buying into what we're trying to do," Roy said following Wednesday's practice in Vegas (H/t New York Islanders). "Like I said to him, sometimes it doesn't have to be pretty. It doesn't have to be the perfect [play]. And sometimes, it requires skills to create rebounds and stuff like that. He's been doing that.
"Every line he's been on since he's been back, they've been the best line for our team. Has he been getting rewarded for how well he's been playing? No. But I'm confident things will turn around for him."
What about Ducliar?
After scoring twice with an assist through his first four games as a member of the Islanders, Duclair's lower-body injury put a damper on his strong start.
Since returning, the 29-year-old hasn't looked quite like himself yet. He has three points (one goal, two assists) in seven games but has been held pointless over the club's last four outings.
"I think he still needs a little bit to get [back to his game]," Roy said. "I like what he does. He's working hard in practice. He does everything to get back in game shape and everything to play. So, I'm very comfortable with what I've seen so far. He'll be fine."
Since returning, Duclair has played most of his minutes alongside Horvat.
"Bo is a special player, and I want to do everything in my power to be in the right spots and create some chances," Duclair said following Wednesday's skate (H/t New York Islanders).
While Barzal and Duclair are relied upon to produce at 5-on-5, where the Islanders desperately need their help is on the power play.
The league's worst man-advantage unit (11 percent) has not scored a goal in their last 20 opportunities.
The Islanders did not get a power play in their game against Boston, but that win showed just how critical special teams can play.
Despite also having a league-worst penalty kill (64 percent), the penalty killers came up extremely large in that one en route to the victory.
Barzal and Duclair are just two pieces to the Islanders' puzzle, but huge pieces if they want to go on a run and turn around what's been a shaky season.