Stick change works for Wennberg

It hasn’t brought luck avoiding facial injuries, but there might be untapped points inside Alexander Wennberg’s new sticks.

Brought over from Sweden on a recent visit by his parents, the all-white Warrior brand models are from the same stash that Wennberg used to rack up a career-high 13 goals and 59 points during the 2016-17 season as the Blue Jackets’ top center.

“(My parents) were just coming over and I was like, ‘Can you look in the garage and just grab those sticks?’ ” said Wennberg, who had two assists Tuesday in a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers. “I had eight of them, but I only have four left because my dad plays, too. He was like, ‘I have to play hockey, too. ‘So, he had four of them left.”

They are now in Wennberg’s possession, making their first game appearance Sunday in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. They weren’t much luck in that game, with Wennberg being called for high-sticking and tripping penalties, but New Year’s Eve was his first multipoint game since Oct. 12 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“He’s had the puck more,” said coach John Tortorella, who has noticed an uptick in Wennberg’s play. “He’s kept the puck more. He has skated into the middle of the ice more with the puck. He’s made a lot of good offensive plays, so his game has improved.”

Wennberg’s luck in keeping his face healthy is a different story.

After losing one of his eye teeth when he was hit in the mouth with a stick Dec. 17 at Detroit, Wennberg’s right cheek took the brunt of a slap shot Tuesday by teammate Vladislav Gavrikov.

Tortorella fined

Tortorella was fined $20,000 by the NHL on Wednesday for comments after the loss to the Blackhawks. The league also levied a conditional $25,000 fine that will only be collected if Tortorella displays similar “inappropriate behavior” through Dec. 29.

Tortorella lambasted the NHL’S official clock operator, referees Dan O’halloran and Chris Schlenker plus the league’s video oversight headquarters in Toronto for not correcting a timekeeping mistake that subtracted 1.1 seconds off the game clock after a Blackhawks penalty late in overtime.

Texier out indefinitely

Rookie Alexandre Texier didn’t make the trip to Boston on Wednesday, was placed on injured reserve with a lumbar stress fracture and is out indefinitely.

Rookie forward Justin Scott was recalled on an emergency basis from the Cleveland Monsters, but Texier’s exit is another big blow. The forward, who missed four games from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5, has six goals, seven assists, 13 points and a plus-2 rating in 36 games.