Palat and Duclair Are Giving the Islanders the Early Lift They Needed

Five games in, the Islanders' best early signs aren't coming from the names everyone circled in the summer. They're coming from two veterans whose careers on Long Island looked like they might be running out of chances. Ondrej Palat and Anthony Duclair have given Pete DeBoer the thing he needs most right now: reliable production from players who want to prove something.

Duclair's answer to a challenge

Duclair has one goal through five games, and on the scoresheet that doesn't jump off the page. Watch him skate, though, and the difference is easier to see. After a groin injury derailed his 2024-25 season, the speed and confidence that had been largely missing are starting to come back. That's the part that matters most to me, because a winger who can't get through the neutral zone with pace is a winger who spends his shifts chasing the play.

The turning point came after a disappointing performance against the Rangers. DeBoer challenged Duclair directly, and Duclair responded with a goal in Thursday's 4-1 win over Chicago. Coaches don't always get that kind of answer from a veteran, and it says something about where Duclair's head is.

"It's nice to be healthy and get going," Duclair said. "Just feeling like myself again."

Health is the unglamorous precondition for everything else. A player coming off a lost season can look fine in practice and still lack the explosiveness to win battles or push pace on the forecheck. If Duclair is back to his usual self, the Islanders get a middle-six option who can change a shift on his own.

Palat's second act

Palat's story is a different kind of comeback. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was acquired from New Jersey last January, and he never looked fully comfortable after arriving on Long Island. That's not unusual. Players traded midseason often spend their first months learning systems, linemates and a new city while trying to earn ice time they used to take for granted.

A full offseason on the Island has changed that picture. Palat is skating better and contributing more consistently, and he has a goal and an assist through five games. Those numbers are modest, but the way he's getting them is what stands out. He's around the puck more, and he's not waiting for opportunities to find him.

And yet the production isn't really the point yet. What matters is whether the pace holds over a long season, when the early energy of a fresh start fades and the schedule starts grinding.

Pageau sees the same hunger

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who knows what it looks like when a veteran is pushing for a spot, sees something similar in both players. He framed it as two veterans with something to prove, and he didn't hesitate to name the common thread.

"Last year didn't go the way he wanted and now he has his second chance," Pageau said of Palat. "He came in this year with an attitude, 'I'm going to show everyone.' I see the same thing [from Duclair]."

Newsday's Andrew Gross picked up the same theme, noting that Palat and Duclair have both raised their games from last season. Motivation is hard to measure, but it tends to show up in the small things: a willingness to retrieve a puck along the boards, a quicker first step on the backcheck, a player who wants the defensive assignment instead of avoiding it.

DeBoer has his own explanation. He believes time to settle into his new surroundings has made a difference, and that continuity in the building has let both players find their footing. Those two readings don't contradict each other. Time gives players the chance to prove something, and motivation is what they do with it.

Why the depth matters with Barzal out

With Mathew Barzal still sidelined, the Islanders can't lean entirely on Bo Horvat, Matthew Schaefer and Ilya Sorokin to carry the club. That's the real pressure behind this story. When a team's top players are doing most of the heavy lifting, any slump from a top-six forward or a shaky night in goal turns into a problem fast. The Isles need secondary scoring that doesn't depend on the same few names every night.

That's why Palat and Duclair matter more than their point totals suggest. Depth scoring is rarely flashy, but it's what separates a team that can survive a rough stretch from one that falls apart when the stars cool off. Teams in this spot usually need a handful of unexpected contributors to make the lineup function, and this group is starting to look like it has them.

So far, Palat and Duclair are providing exactly that.

What to watch next

The next question is sustainability. Can Duclair keep the speed he's shown since the groin injury, and can he stay consistent enough to avoid another stretch like the one that prompted DeBoer's challenge? For Palat, the question is whether the improved skating and steady production hold once opponents start game-planning for him.

Gross's post also points to another open item: the Islanders need more from Simon Holmstrom. If Palat and Duclair keep rolling while Holmstrom finds his game, the middle of this lineup gets much harder to play against. My read is that the Islanders don't need every veteran to become a star. They need two of them to keep showing up like they have something to prove, and right now they are.