One of the highest paid players on the team, Brandon Dubinsky is expected to be a leader and a focal point for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Starting the season on a goalless drought has made him an easy scapegoat.
The Blue Jackets have needed strong depth down the middle of the ice and Dubinsky with now four points in 14 games, is one of the big time players underperforming.
His game-tying goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning may be a galvanizing moment for the player and hopefully for the team as they pulled out a point after being two goals down in the third period.
"One of the guys that needs to get going more consistently. That's a big goal," said head coach John Tortorella about Dubinsky after his strong performance against the Lightning.
Dubinsky in years past had been able to point at different parts of his game as markers that he was going to perform. This year he is second to last in 5-on-5 shot differential and he also has the sixth highest PDO on the team at 102.7. If anything at the moment he is playing above what his metrics say.
That should be concerning when compounded by the fact that Dubinsky also had the "A" removed from his jersey and given to Jack Johnson. If you ask the player though, this all just part of it and he will come out ahead.
"It's nice," Dubinsky said about scoring after a long drought. "I mean it's been a little frustrating at times for sure but hopefully this opens the gate a little bit for me. Again, the points mean the most so I am not sitting here through the roof happy about it."
Given that fellow center, Lukas Sedlak is out with injury and the team needs to find more consistency down the middle, Dubinsky is going to be a catalyst for future success. Getting his feet under him and being the player of old will alleviate pressure on younger players.
"I'm happy and hopefully more offense will come my way," Dubinsky said. Tonight was a good first step.
