Dubois gets pointers to help him win more face-offs
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Shortly after the team portion of the Blue Jackets’ morning skate ended Thursday, three guys headed over to one of the face-off circles.
Pierre-luc Dubois was one of them. Brandon Dubinsky was another. The third was coach John Tortorella, who glided over to watch closely as one of the league’s best face-off winning veterans, Dubinsky, imparted a few trade secrets to Dubois, one of the NHL’S top young centers.
“It’s difficult now for centers learning how to take face-offs because of the new rules,” Tortorella said. “You can’t cheat. And you better be careful if you cheat, because it could cost your team a penalty. So it’s a difficult situation, but that’s where we’re at with ‘Luc’ right now.”
Dubois, 20, is built like a tank, has a powerful skating stride and has hands that are nimble. Where he needs the most work is exactly where he and Dubinsky stood after that practice.
After finishing his rookie season with a 43.8 percent winning percentage on draws, Dubois is right around that number again. He has won just 43.2 percent of his 960 face-offs this season and wants to elevate that percentage.
“You saw what I did in Calgary in the third period,” Tortorella said, referring to his usage of Matt Duchene for key draws against the Flames. “(Dubois) is aggravated, but I have to get the puck in that offensive zone when we’re chasing the game.”
Duchene, Dubinsky and Boone Jenner all have win percentages over 50 percent, which gives Tortorella options. He spots them in all situations and locations but said it tends to disrupt the Jackets’ offensive flow. It would be better if Dubois can get to the point where he earns more trust at the dots from his coach.
“I give him the first half of the game and if we’re chasing it (later), I’m going to use someone else,” Tortorella said. “So it’s good to see that he’s working at it.”
Bumps, bruises and bugs
The Blue Jackets didn’t practice Friday, which was probably good from a health standpoint. They’ve had some sort of illness making its way through the team, and staying off the ice allowed those who might be fighting it to rest.
They’re without defenseman Ryan Murray (upper body), who has missed 16 games, captain Nick Foligno (personal issue) and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who sat out Thursday in Edmonton because of an undisclosed injury.
“Nick’s not injured, but everyone’s playing with injuries,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “We’re at Game (75) here, and everyone’s got something they’re playing through.”
The Fix was in
Trey Fix-wolansky, a Blue Jackets forward prospect who’s from Edmonton and plays with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League, attended the game Thursday at Rogers Place.
Fix-wolansky, who was selected by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round (No. 204) of the 2018 NHL draft, had a group of friends with him. He rooted for his new favorite team, the Blue Jackets, against the Oilers, whom he cheered growing up.
“They were my team,” Fix-wolansky said of the Oilers, one of 30 teams to pass him over in the 2017 and ’18 drafts. “They missed their shot, so I’m proud to be part of Columbus now.”