Anthony Duclair knows how to play the game. He proved that to John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Duclair scored three goals in the Ottawa Senators’ 4-3 win -- including the game winner in the video above -- and was able to get some small amount of revenge against his former team and coach.
It’s such a big day for Duclair because it was a little less than a year ago that he was the focal point of Tortorella’s public wrath. In late February Tortorella ripped Duclair by saying, among other things, that he didn’t know if he knew how to play the game, while also referring to his play as being “off the rails.”
The focal point of the criticism centered around Duclair’s situational play away from the puck. Three days later the Blue Jackets sent him to Ottawa in a trade for Ryan Dzingel.
Fresh start for Duclair
Duclair’s game has started to blossom offensively since arriving in Ottawa. With his three-goal effort on Saturday he is up to 18 goals in 33 games this season. No player on the Blue Jackets has more than 10 goals.
He also has 26 goals in 53 games with the Senators since the trade.
Duclair is a fascinating player because he is still only 24 years old and is already playing for his fifth different organization. While he may still have some improvements to make away from the puck, there is no denying his talent level with it, while he consistently averages a 20-goal pace per 82 games. He is now on pace for more than 40 goals this season.
A smart team should be able to find a use for him, and right now the Senators are.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.