Duclair shows lots of promise on penalty kill

He’s only done it for 16 seconds, but Anthony Duclair certainly left a good impression during a brief stint killing off a penalty in Detroit.

Sent into the game during a Red Wings power play in the second period of the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 overtime win Thursday, Duclair helped polish off a penalty kill and then used an impressive speed burst to create a goal.

“He hasn’t done it much,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said of Duclair’s penalty-killing experience. “We just don’t think we can let that speed and quickness go by without trying to teach him a little bit. He’s going to make some mistakes in our end zone, but I think he’s going to back teams off with that type of speed.”

That was evident at Detroit, when Duclair’s speed created a rush up the ice, with Josh Anderson coming out of the penalty box. Duclair stopped on a dime, wheeled and sent the puck to the net — creating a rebound that Anderson put in for a 2-1 lead.

“Makes a good play on the goal,” Tortorella said of Duclair, who’s used more on the second power-play unit. “We’re going to kind of bit-and-piece it with him and try to get him to understand (penalty-killing). I think he can be really good at it.”

Duclair didn’t get any short-handed minutes Friday in a 3-1 Jackets loss, but the Carolina Hurricanes only had one power play. After getting further instruction from assistant Brad Shaw, he could get more penalty-kill opportunities.

“Shawzy’s going to “Shawzy’s going to spend some time with him and teach him the system, and then we’re going to let him go with his speed.” spend some time with him and teach him the system, and then we’re going to let him go with his speed,” Tortorella said.

Close call

Zach Werenski said he’s fine after an accidental fall Friday against the Hurricanes.

Werenski, who had surgery May 3 to repair the labrum and rotator cuff in his left shoulder, was knocked over in the first period during a goal celebration by Carolina’s Jordan Martinook. Werenski fell to the ice and slid into the end boards, which prompted his brief exit from the game.

The 21-year old defenseman returned and logged a gamehigh 25:19, the second game in a row he’s played the most of any skater.

One- timers

Sergei Bobrovsky allowed three goals but looked sharper in his regular-season debut Friday than he did all preseason. “The real hockey starts now,” Bobrovsky said. “Now it matters.” … Cam Atkinson has worn an alternate captain “A” on his jersey the first two games, with Seth Jones (knee) injured. “I take a lot of pride in that,” Atkinson said. “I’m very fortunate and humble in the fact they look at me as a leader, so it’s a very exciting moment in my career.”