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Arizona Coyotes’ Anthony Duclair Breaks Scoring Slump Against Stars

By Jason Harrison

Nov 3, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes left wing Anthony Duclair (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the third period against Nashville Predators at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes left wing Anthony Duclair (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the third period against Nashville Predators at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
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Arizona Coyotes’ winger Anthony Duclair broke a 22 game scoring drought Tuesday night.

It hasn’t been a great sophomore campaign for Arizona Coyotes’ star Anthony Duclair.

After a 20 goal rookie campaign, Duke has been as snakebitten as it gets in year two.

Through 31 games, he had just one goal and three assists.

Coming into Tuesday night’s matchup, Duclair had a shooting percentage of 2.7% and had shot the puck just 37 times.

He had found himself in the press box as a healthy scratch, and it seemed like the net had a force field around it every time he had a scoring chance.

A little determination against the Dallas Stars fixed everything, however.

A mad scramble and a loose puck in front of Kari Lehtonen gave Duke a golden opportunity.

It took him several whacks of the stick to get the puck in the net, but in the net it finally went.

The goal ended a 22 game goal-scoring drought for the 21-year-old.

He was pretty happy to finally get one in, as you would expect.

As good as that gif was, that wasn’t even the best gif of the night.

For the Arizona Coyotes, Anthony Duclair scoring also comes with a sigh of relief.

Rumors have propogated that Duke was available in trade this summer at the NHL draft, and those rumors have picked up again as he’s struggled throughout the season.

Whether #10 is truly a trade candidate or part of the team’s bright young future, he has little value if he can’t do the thing he’s on an NHL roster to do – score.

The Yotes have seen precious little of the Duclair/Domi connection that fueled the team last season and thrilled the fan base.

The pair have spent very little time on the ice together, and now Max Domi is out for at least six weeks with a hand injury.

Seeing Duke get going without Domi in the lineup might be the best news the Arizona Coyotes could get.

It remains unclear how much of his success was due to Domi and how much was self made.

A nice run of points over the next few weeks would go a long way towards assuaging fears about Duclair and which version is the “real Duke”.

Next: Yotes Should Play Youth More Heavily As Season Slips Away

For now, he’s got another goal in hand and a smile on his face.

Here’s hoping we see many more from #10 moving forward.

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