Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
So the short answer here is no, that you should not be worried about the number of minutes forward Max Domi played in his first game with the Columbus Blue Jackets. But the long answer to this is one that should be monitored by every fan of the team and is a continued cause for concern as the season progresses.
Having Domi only play 12:57 is a head-scratching notion. Taking a bit of a dive into it, seeing that Domi did have four penalty minutes including one offensive zone penalty, it makes a tiny bit more sense. Although, those four minutes likely wouldn't have been completely filled by Domi.
It never matters whether or not it is true, if there is any sort of strife in the locker room and out on the ice, it is going to come back to head coach John Tortorella.
Tortorella, while improved, is also known for telling it like it is to his players. It has worked many times over and we have also seen many times over that it also does not work. This makes Tortorella an easy scapegoat.
For a team that is going to be struggling for goals on a night in and night out basis, it doesn't make the explanation of "changing momentum" any easier to swallow. The Blue Jackets need to play their best players and they need to give them the ice time that they need to succeed.
While Domi may need to "prove it" his prior 70+ point season should be reason enough to have him get top-six ice time. When you look at the players that saw more ice, it becomes even more befuddling. If you are trying to jump start your offense, are you really going to do it on the back of Riley Nash? You aren't going to see these types of statements made by similar coaches with their top players. Why should this be any different?
One game is nothing to worry about, true. Whether it continues is an entirely different question. Given the prior history with the coach, it isn't an unfair one to ask.
