Foligno performing well on center stage
ST. LOUIS — General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he’s “not worried about” the Blue Jackets’ group of centers, and a major reason has been captain Nick Foligno’s transition there from wing.
“We’ve been fine the first (10) games, and I think we’ll be fine the next 20 games with this group,” Kekalainen said Friday before a 2-1 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets at Nationwide Arena.
“I said the other day after a game, ‘I’m not so sure Foligno isn’t a better center than he is a winger, he’s played so well.’ He’s played some of the best hockey I’ve seen him play and I’ve been here for five years. So who’s to say he’s ever going back to wing?” Blues goalie Jake Allen stops a shot by the Blue Jackets’ Josh Anderson in the first period.
With Alexander Wennberg and Brandon Dubinsky not starting the season as well as hoped, Foligno’s smooth transition to center has been essential. Coach John Tortorella talked to Foligno this summer about changing positions, and Foligno’s response was, “Right away,
anything you need me to do,” Tortorella said. “So (his success at center) doesn’t surprise me because he’s all in.”
Said Foligno, “I knew I had to step up for the team. That’s not to pat myself on the back. I just knew that’s a responsibility I wanted.”
Asked if he might be a better center than wing, Foligno laughed.
“I like the responsibility that comes with center. The onus is on me,” he said. “Maybe just the aspect of having the puck on my stick a little more and me skating a little more has helped my game. I always say I’ll go wherever it’s needed. Right now it’s there, and I’m enjoying it.”
Anderson coming around
After Josh Anderson scored the winning goal in overtime Friday, Tortorella praised the 23-year-old but not his agent, referencing Anderson’s contract holdout that ended just three days before the season opener.
“His game is coming,” Tortorella said. “I told you when he was holding out, he can be a really good player in this league — a really good player if he just keeps his head on straight and doesn’t listen to his agent.”
Not a mannequin
Much has been made of Tortorella’s decision to change line combinations this past week, for no reason, he said.
“People can play with anybody. It’s a bunch of crap when players say, ‘I’m playing with all these people, this and that,’” he said. “I don’t believe it. The game of hockey isn’t that difficult.”
He added, “I’m not going to be a mannequin back there and ignore what’s going on with some of our lines at certain times. … My battle is how long do I give it in certain situations?”