Since the start of this final, the word that has been spoken most often, on both sides, is probably the word “dream”, because the players cannot believe that they are here.

Anthony Duclair also struggles to believe it.

You should have seen him, the guy who has come back from afar, looking at all the cameras with a somewhat surprised look during media day, opening the final in Vegas. After the first game, he admitted to having a little trouble understanding everything that happens to him.

“I look at that, and I think back to my years in minor hockey, my years at Lac Saint-Louis in the Midget AAA,” he explained. To arrive here, to this point, one dreams of this all one’s life. We always dream at this moment, it is not something we can take for granted. »

No, Duclair has taken nothing for granted since the start of this final. In fact, he never takes anything for granted, let alone since he seriously injured his left Achilles tendon last summer, a bad twist of fate that forced him to undergo surgery in July. . He was able to return to play only on February 24.

After playing just 20 games this season, Duclair has shifted into another gear in the playoffs; in 17 playoff games, he had 11 points, two more than his season tally, though by his own admission he wasn’t at his peak in the first-round series against Boston. “I was messed up,” he said of that matchup against the Bruins.

“I think I’m becoming a more complete player on the ice,” he added. I found my way back by playing with Barkov and Verhaeghe. It’s obvious that these two guys are helping me so much to become the player I’m looking to become. »

Almost everyone has noticed that the Quebec player is finding his rhythm. That includes his coach Paul Maurice, who threw flowers at him in the first two games of the Finals in Las Vegas.

“I would say his speed is unique,” the Panthers driver said of him. There just aren’t many players who walk the ice the way he can. Also, there are not many players who can play with Barkov, because Barkov needs that speed to go with him. That’s why Anthony was so good on this line.

“Also, putting Anthony on this line, it allows us to find a balance in our lines, because we can send Sam Reinhart to play with a young center (Anton Lundell), and it gives us lines that become very important for We. I think he’s progressing, and his game is going to get better; yes, he is a scorer, and he can produce on offense, but he will become more and more responsible on the ice. Because playing with Barkov means that you will face the best duo in the opposing defense every night, and maybe also the first center of the other club every night too. »

For Duclair, the dream continues, of course, but the Panthers’ performance will have to improve to prevent it from turning into a nightmare. With Game 3 of the Finals slated for Thursday night at Sunrise, and trailing the Golden Knights 0-2 in this series, Panthers players will need to get back to the form that got them this far. .

Before leaving Vegas and heading back to Florida, Anthony Duclair seemed well versed in all of this.

“Our team is close to the goal, but we have to know how to keep both feet on the ground,” he admitted. Because we still have work to do…”