Are We Worried About Anthony Duclair?

In the third period of Thursday night’s 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Anthony Duclair sat stapled to the bench. With The Duke only seeing the ice for one or two shifts through the final frame, D.J. Smith’s message rang clear: it’s time to figure it out.

In fairness to Smith, this isn’t just about scoring. Sure, Duclair hasn’t scored in 16 (!) games now, but droughts happen, especially on a team as bad as the Sens.  It’s the fact that despite some really good scoring chances, the entirety of his game has been way off lately. In his last three games, Anthony Duclair has posted an average Corsi rating of 34.84%, also seeing a decrease in ice time each contest.

This certainly does cause some concern, with the main knock on Duclair’s career being inconsistency. He’s started off well nearly everywhere he’s played, and then proceeded to fall off a cliff, much to the ire of coaches and staff that have questioned his effort level, and dedication to hockey.

All that said, I don’t know if it’s time to mash the panic button just yet. We’re talking about an Anthony Duclair that tallied 15 points in the month of December, en route to his first NHL All-Star Game appearance. We know he can play, even on this down stretch he’s shown flashes of brilliance.

But what do you think? Is this just an ill-timed cold streak that Duclair will bounce back from, or old problems resurfacing?

Make sure to vote, and let us know in the comments section:

Are you worried about Anthony Duclair?