Dubinsky heads home for tests on injured hip

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Blue Jackets filed onto the ice Thursday for their morning skate missing one player.

Brandon Dubinsky, the fourth-line center and a key face-off specialist, flew back to Columbus to get an MRI on his hip — which kept him out of the Jackets’ 6-3 victory Tuesday at the Colorado Avalanche.

“He’s definitely a guy that’s relied upon in this room, even though it is maybe a limited role in ice time,” captain Nick Foligno said before the Blue Jackets played the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. “He still goes out there for some big moments in big games and he knows how much he means to this team. We obviously want to see him get back in the lineup pretty soon here.”

It is becoming an injury-plagued season for Dubinsky, 32, who also missed four games in January with a strained hamstring and 10 games between Oct. 9 and Nov. 1 with a torn oblique.

When healthy, though, Dubinsky has earned a niche role that he has been outwardly reluctant to own. His ability to win face-offs, leading the team with a 55.4 percent win percentage, has proven to be critical in a number of games.

Coach John Tortorella often sends Dubinsky out for key defensive-zone draws and has even spotted him with different lines to take face-offs and then hustle off the ice — including at the beginning of 3-on-3 overtime periods.

“I think Dubi wants to play more minutes, in more of an offensive role … it hasn’t worked that way,” said Tortorella, who has used Dubinsky mostly as the fourth-line center. “I think guys have played better. He has had a hell of a year in the face-offs. Although players don’t always want to grab ahold of that, I think that’s a really good thing. That’s a very important thing.”

Murray plays

Ryan Murray joined his teammates for the morning skate, but Tortorella didn’t know at the time whether the puck-moving defenseman would be available.

Turns out, he was. After going through pregame warmups, Murray returned to action and skated on the top defense pairing with Seth Jones. Murray, who missed the game Tuesday against the Avalanche, appeared to injure to his left ankle last Thursday in Winnipeg.

He alternated practice reps with Zach Werenski in the morning, skating with Jones, but took all line rushes on the top pairing in pregame. Werenski played with David Savard, and Dean Kukan — who also took pregame warmup — was scratched.

Big boost

Boone Jenner, who missed three games with an infected cut on his right ankle, had an impressive return to action against the Avalanche. He had two assists and won 72 percent (13 of 18) of the draws he took — filling in for Dubinsky as a face-off specialist.

“It’s huge what he brings all over the ice,” Foligno said.