Takeaways on a bubbling Blue Jackets pot
It only took five games for a Blue Jackets season in which the tension that has simmered since top-line center Pierre-luc Dubois requested a trade upon signing a two-year contract extension officially boiled over.
On Thursday, Dubois watched most of the Blue Jackets' 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning from the bench.
It was his team's home opener in its 20th anniversary season and the first NHL game at Nationwide Arena since March 1 — details pushed to the background as the 22-year-old was kept off the ice by coach John Tortorella for the final 441⁄2 minutes of regulation and all of overtime.
“I'm just a coach … trying to make it work with a hockey club, trying to find a way to win games,” Tortorella told reporters afterward. “The person that you keep talking to me about? You should ask him.”
Beyond the drama, there was a hockey game played Thursday and the Blue Jackets left with a 1-2-2 record. Here are some takeaways:
Avoiding the elephant
Dubois' teammates have tried to ignore the situation, either refusing to comment or shifting their thoughts to the team as a whole. Not much changed in that regard Thursday.
Captain Nick Foligno used the phrase “above my pay grade,” and talked about staying focused on the game instead of Dubois. Oliver Bjorkstrand, a close friend with Dubois, refused comment.
“My priority is the team,” Foligno said. “I know Luc's part of that and we've had our conversations behind closed doors, but my job is to worry about our game and how we're playing, and I can't worry about who's not and who is. That's the coach's decision, so my job is to play for the guys who are out
there.
“We obviously didn't get the job done tonight and it's just disappointing because there were a lot of good minutes.”
Korpisalo was excellent
If there was a bright spot, it's that goalie Joonas Korpisalo gets sharper each game.
This was his third start and probably his best. The Lightning forced a slew of turnovers that led to odd-man rushes, but Korpisalo nixed most, including a breakaway.
Blake Coleman and Mathieu Joseph scored goals against Korpisalo just 1:23 apart late in the second period. He finished with 34 saves.
Quick strike
It only took 21 seconds after the puck dropped for the Blue Jackets to trigger their goal cannon, which blasts after every goal scored at Nationwide Arena.
Max Domi started the play by stealing the puck from defenseman Victor Hedman. He collected it in the Lightning zone and dished it to Bjorkstrand for the goal from the right face-off circle.
Powering up
The Blue Jackets' power-play showed signs of improvement during a four-game road trip to open the season.
Despite going 0 for 7 on the trip, the puck stayed in the offensive zone for long stretches, re-entries were largely
successful and the Jackets had a 15-0 edge in shots, so they weren't giving up short-handed chances and forfeiting momentum.
Their first power play against the Lightning was fruitless, but Foligno scored seven seconds into the next one, tying the score at 2 just 47 seconds into the third period, negating the lead Tampa had built late in the second period.
“I thought we regrouped really well and found a way to get on the power play, which is huge,” Foligno said. “We're going to need to get our power play going, so it's encouraging to see that.”
The Blue Jackets finished 1 for 4 on power plays in the game and are 1 for 11 (9.1%) for the season.
bhedger@dispatch.com