Just one day after falling to the reeling Buffalo Sabres in overtime, the Columbus Blue Jackets played a much more upbeat game in a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens in a Sunday afternoon matinee.
Pierre-Luc Dubois led the way with two goals and an assist and was easily the team's most noticeable player. His style of play – rugged, hard-nosed, fast – is the expectation Dubois has set for himself.
On Sunday afternoon, he was the most noticeable player on the ice for the Blue Jackets.
Dubois, who has played 217 straight games since entering the NHL as a 19-year-old, knows the opportunity in front of him when Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene left via free agency. The 21-year-old is now up to 17-25-42 in 53 games, as he currently leads the Blue Jackets in scoring. His 17 goals have him tied for the team lead with Oliver Bjorkstrand, and his 25th assist broke a tie with Seth Jones.
What Dubois lacks in game-breaking ability, he makes up for in old fashioned ruggedness. He was rewarded in a big way for his tenacity in Sunday's matinee, and we thought it deserved to be called out. But don't mistake his blue-collar style of hockey for a lack of skill, because he's proven that he can take over a game.
While Vladislav Gavrikov scored the game's first goal, the credit should go primarily to Nick Foligno, who ironically wasn't credited with an assist (being the third player removed from the goal), and Dubois. Foligno dodged a body check and dragged the puck into the opposition's corner, where the Blue Jackets could establish a forecheck.
Foligno, being the lowest player in the zone, is what coaches refer to as F1 (forward one). His job is to create havoc and to give his other players a chance to read off of him. If you freeze the below video at 0:16, you'll see Foligno is occupying two Montreal players. A second later, Ryan Poehling begins skating up the ice, and the F2 (second forward/Pierre-Luc Dubois) does a masterful job of sealing him off on the wall and stripping him of the puck.
This turnover causes enough havoc to put the Canadiens on their heels. Dubois finds Oliver Bjorsktrand, who has scored seven goals in his past four games. The Canadiens know this well, and their eyes are glued to him. Bjorkstrand holds the puck long enough to allow Gavrikov time to streak down the wing, who is seemingly unnoticed. He scores the goal, but the work by Foligno/Dubois allows this play to develop.
The next goal shows the trust the Blue Jackets players have in one another. Dubois, a center, is lined up on the wing (freeze it at 0:03), and you'll notice that Bjorkstrand (a winger) is lined up in the middle of the ice. Dubois correctly decides not to enter the fray, trusting that Foligno and Zach Werenski will win their two-on-two play. Foligno rims the puck around the wall and creates a foot race between Dubois and Tomas Tatar/Ben Chiarot. Dubois wins the race and goes in on a breakaway and beats Carey Price high above the glove on a nice forehand/backhand move.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for Dubois. On Tatar's goal, he forced a play up the middle of the ice trying to lead Gavrikov. The safer/more prudent play would have been up the wall. He probably chose to avoid the chip play to Bjorkstrand as he feared the Canadiens' defensive gap would close quickly, neutralizing the play. While he may have been right in his assessment, it wouldn't have led to a 2-on-1 against. His riskier play did, and it cost the Blue Jackets a goal.
Tomas Tatar 2-1 #CBJ pic.twitter.com/cQwfm1Ou32
— Here's Your Replay (@HeresYourReplay) February 2, 2020
But Dubois redeemed himself later in the second period. His strong work behind the net with Shea Weber did not go unnoticed. After getting knocked to the ice, Dubois seemed more determined than ever to make a difference, and he did so by retrieving a loose puck and beating Price to the post with a wraparound that kicked off Price's skate. None of it would have happened without his dogged work below the net, and he was rewarded with his third point of the night.
Dubois' tenacious style of play fits perfectly into John Tortorella's system, and he's being rewarded for his efforts. For the Blue Jackets to continue to stay in the playoff hunt, they'll need Dubois to play at the same level he did in Montreal.
