Duchene gives Jackets another face-off option
CALGARY, Alberta — Points are talked about most with Matt Duchene, but the star center has helped the Blue Jackets most on face-offs.
Duchene has six points on three goals and three assists after scoring the Jackets’ lone goal in a 2-1 overtime loss Saturday in Boston, but he’s also won 57.7 percent of the 196 draws he’s taken — including 8 of 14 (57 percent) against the Bruins.
“He’s helped us on powerplay face-offs,” coach John Tortorella said. “I’ve used him in the defensive zone (too), because I wear out (Brandon Dubinsky).”
Tortorella has used Dubinsky and Boone Jenner almost exclusively this season to take key face-offs. Prior to Duchene’s arrival, he’d used his best two face-off winners all over the ice and in all situations — including Dubinsky even starting some 3-on-3 overtimes with the specific purpose of winning the first draw and then heading off the ice.
It’s not ideal, though, because of the logistics involved with a designated face-off winner trying to exit the ice after taking a draw. Having Duchene allows Tortorella to keep Dubinsky and Jenner on the bench more often for their usual shift work.
“The thing that (is tough) about it when I use Dubi is it stops your flow offensively,” Tortorella said. “I need to use Dubi, but then we’re trying to get Bread (Artemi Panarin) on and we can’t get our offense going. So, I’m trying to stay away from that as much as I can. I can use three of those guys now in that type of situation.”
Since Feb. 7, the Blue Jackets have surged to the top of the NHL’S team face-off rankings — winning 602 of 1,125 face-offs (53.5 percent). During that span, Dubinsky (first), Jenner (ninth) and Duchene (10th) are all ranked among the top-10 in the league in win percentage.
Try, try again
Duchene was starting to feel a little “snakebit” after clanging shots off the crossbar too much for his liking following the Feb. 22 trade that made him a Blue Jacket.
In fact, the exact number of times was stamped in his mind Saturday night at TD Garden, when he finally got one under the crossbar for his 30th goal.
“I’ve had four since I’ve been here,” said Duchene, who tied his career high for goals in a season. “When you’re that close, you’re doing things right and you’re getting chances. You’ve just got to stick with it. It’s kind of the first slump I’ve been in all year.”
Tortorella was also glad to finally see one go into the net for Duchene, who’s been trying to spark his offensive production since the trade. The goal tied the score at 1 late in the first period.
“He’s looked for that area of the net a number of times with us,” Tortorella said. “Hit the crossbar a number of times. It’s a big goal for us (at the time). I think it settles us down.”
One-timers
The Blue Jackets didn’t get a power play in the loss to the Bruins, but Tortorella said Ryan Dzingel would’ve replaced captain Nick Foligno on the top unit. … Foligno is expected to join the team soon after missing the game in Boston for an undisclosed personal matter. … Rookie forward Alexandre Texier made his debut in the American Hockey League on Saturday, finishing with two shots for the Cleveland Monsters in their 3-2 loss at the Rockford Icehogs.