Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips November 10-14, 2017

Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Coach tries to spark Alexander Wennberg PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Gabriel Carlsson waits for more ice time PAGE 05: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets: Tortorella says young team can learn from tough times PAGE 06: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Rave review for rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois PAGE 08: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Werenski, Jones paired on first power-play unit PAGE 09: The Athletic: Early-season struggles cost Alexander Wennberg a spot on Blue Jackets' power play PAGE 12: Columbus Dispatch: Hurricanes 3, Blue Jackets 1 | Frustration builds after fourth straight loss PAGE 13: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Motte’s role may be diminished PAGE 14: The Athletic: Long-suffering power play must shoot its way to success for Blue Jackets PAGE 16: The Athletic: Stuck in muck vs. Carolina, Blue Jackets drop fourth in a row PAGE 19: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets 2, Red Wings 1, SO | Johnson stops four-game slide with goal in ninth round of shootout PAGE 21: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Aircraft issues cause delay in flight to Detroit PAGE 22: The Athletic: Can a sleeper become a star? Blue Jackets are banking on Maxime Fortier PAGE 24: The Athletic: Anatomy of a save: Sergei Bobrovsky rescues Blue Jackets with remarkable OT stop in 2-1 win PAGE 27: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets notebook | Bobrovsky’s clutch save wows coach PAGE 29: The Athletic: Jack Johnson should be a Blue Jackets shootout secret no more PAGE 31: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Sonny Milano tries to learn while playing less PAGE 32: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Oliver Bjorkstrand’s play draws coach’s praise PAGE 33: Columbus Dispatch: Team looking for its identity, coach and players say PAGE 35: The Athletic: For Blue Jackets rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois, support is just a phone call — or text — away

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects

NHL/Websites PAGE 39: USA Today: Team USA Olympic coach Tony Granato: We have players 'who could play in the NHL' PAGE 40: Sportsnet.ca: Quick Shifts: The power of ’embarrassing’ your coach PAGE 42: Sportsnet.ca: Which players could one day contend for NHL games played title? PAGE 45: Sportsnet.ca: Jarome Iginla isn’t ready to retire from NHL yet PAGE 46: USA Today: Matt Gilroy, thriving in the KHL, now expected to become go-to player for U.S. Olympic team PAGE 48: TSN.ca: TSN Hockey's Top 10 Storylines of the Week

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171109/blue-jackets--coach-tries-to-spark-alexander-wennberg

Blue Jackets | Coach tries to spark Alexander Wennberg By Steve Gorten – November 9, 2017

He’s “gone through the gamut” with Alexander Wennberg. He’s dropped him from the top line, met with him one-on-one, showed him video and nursed his confidence. Most recently, he has removed Wennberg from the power play (both units) and cut his ice time. Now, Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella is waiting, and wishing, for a certain response. “I hope he jams it to me,” Tortorella said after practice Thursday. “I hope he shows me, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ Because I’m sure a lot of (people) are saying, ‘What the hell is (Coach) doing?’ I’m doing it because I need to get his game to where it is (usually). He’s a great player, but he’s not playing great right now.” Told that Tortorella wants Wennberg to stick it to him, the center chuckled. “It’s up to me to show it then, right?” he responded. To be fair, Wennberg’s performance hasn’t dipped lately. It’s slowly gone on an upward trajectory, Tortorella noted. At the same time, “it depends on what standard you’re looking for. I’m certainly looking for a higher standard.” “I’m not ready to give there. It’s not fair,” Tortorella said of his expectations for Wennberg. “Other players lose ice time. I don’t care what you are, what (draft) pick, what money you make — all that crap. I want you to play. I want you to play for your teammates. I think Wenny has it in him. I’m not condemning him. But I need to see it.” Wennberg’s goal total through 16 games — one — is glaring. But you don’t need that statistic, or any other, to realize he has struggled so far this season. Tortorella doesn’t. “It’s the eye test,” Tortorella said. “It’s not analytics.” What he has seen, and what Wennberg readily admitted, is a lack of growth from last season, when the 23-year-old registered 13 goals and 46 assists in 80 games. The Blue Jackets need more from the player they gave a six-year, $29.4 million contract extension to less than two months ago, and Wennberg agrees. “I’m not really playing the way I wanted. I want to play better,” said Wennberg, who does have eight assists (none the past four games) and a plus-3 rating. “I want to help the team out a little bit more. It’s up to me to actually bring it. There’s different ways to do it. If it’s not scoring points, it’s getting involved in different ways. I’ve just got to find something that would help the team. “I’ve got to be more aggressive, skate more, and I’ve got to get involved in the game. Obviously, they want me to score goals and make points, and it’s something I have to work on. But you got to start with the small things and after that, you’re building on something. ... I feel like I have to be better. I know Torts wants me to be better as well.”

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Tortorella said cutting Wennberg’s ice time and role on the power play isn’t punitive. It’s more of a loving push. “He’s been given a lot of rope to try to get his game together. I believe he will,” Tortorella said. “I think little by little his game is beginning to come. But I’m not going with, ‘Put him on the power play to get his game going.’ I’ve tried that. “A little bit of onus has to be put on the player also to try to get himself straightened out. If he does, and I have confidence that he will, we’re going to be a much better team, he’s going to be a much better player.” With Lukas Sedlak expected to miss another month because of a high-ankle sprain, Brandon Dubinsky struggling to score himself (one goal, four assists), Nick Foligno already a converted wing and Zac Dalpe day-to-day because of an upper-body injury, options at center are limited. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Boone Jenner could be moved, but Dubois is thriving as a wing on Foligno’s line, and Matt Calvert’s upper-body injury makes it less than ideal to move Jenner. “As I’ve always said, I’m not interested in benching people,” Tortorella said. “That’s an easy thing for a coach to do. I don’t want to do that to him because I think it hurts our team. But he has to show me he’s willing to give, too. It’s a two-way street here. I’m not looking to kick him. I’m looking to try to help him.” “Obviously, you want to play as much as you can, but Torts is fair,” Wennberg said. “He plays the guy he thinks is best. Right now, I’m not playing good enough. It’s not a matter of what Torts does. It’s a matter of what I do with my ice time. If I start to play good again, I’m going to earn more ice time.”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171109/blue-jackets--gabriel-carlsson-waits-for-more-ice-time

Blue Jackets | Gabriel Carlsson waits for more ice time By Steve Gorten – November 9, 2017

Gabriel Carlsson was forced to wait 10 games to return from an upper body injury. Now healthy, he has to remain patient.

Carlsson saw his first playing time Tuesday night since he was hurt Oct. 13 against the New York Rangers, but his role as the seventh defenseman in the Blue Jackets lineup was limited.

Carlsson, who was a healthy scratch Monday at New York, skated just six shifts and logged 5:52 of ice time (second-fewest on the team) against the Predators.

“It was a lot of fun, a lot of excitement before the game,” he said. “It’s a little different when you’ve been out a couple of weeks, but I felt pretty good.”

Carlsson recorded one shot on goal and was on the ice when Matt Irwin scored in the second period.

“He lost his guy along the boards on the rush on that first goal. Still, he made some good plays with the puck,” said coach John Tortorella, who added that he’s not sure if he’ll use seven defensemen again Friday against the Hurricanes.

“He’s a good player, but I also have a pair that has played very well in (Ryan Murray) and (Markus Nutivaara) and kind of bypassed another pair. So (Carlsson) might have to wait.”

Tortorella spent part of practice Thursday meeting privately by the boards with David Savard and Jack Johnson. Much of practice was devoted to two-on-two and puck-battle drills.

Quick hits

Forward Zac Dalpe, a scratch Tuesday after playing Monday, didn’t practice because of an upper body injury and his status is “day-to-day,” Tortorella said. Centers Nick Foligno and Alexander Wennberg also didn’t participate because they were given a “maintenance day.” ... Tortorella said there’s still some “overpassing” on the power-play, which has five goals in 48 opportunities. “I just want a little bit more instinctive as far as having a shooter mentality first, and then maybe some of the other seams open up.”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171109/blue-jackets-tortorella-says-young-team-can-learn-from- tough-times

Blue Jackets: Tortorella says young team can learn from tough times By Steve Gorten – November 9, 2017

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella has noted several times that his team would face some adversity with injuries and losses, and likely some challenges they haven’t dealt with before.

In the first month of this season, they’ve lost forwards Lukas Sedlak and Matt Calvert and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson for significant time, and seen some of their top offensive players — Artemi Panarin, Alexander Wennberg and Brandon Dubinsky — struggle to put the puck in the net.

And, now, there are the losses.

The Jackets (9-6-1) are coming off three consecutive defeats heading into Friday’s home game against Carolina, and Tortorella said after a hard-skating practice Thursday that he’s curious to see how players respond.

“I think tomorrow’s a pretty important game for us, just not to lose our wits about ourselves, to handle it with a little bit of composure,” Tortorella said. “I told you we won some games this year that we didn’t deserve to win and we’re going to lose some games that we deserve to win.”

Tuesday’s 3-1 home loss to Nashville fit into the latter category, Tortorella said, adding that “we did a lot of good things,” including limiting the Predators to eight or nine scoring chances while creating nearly twice as many themselves.

“Now we’ve lost three with getting one point — let’s find a way to win a game,” Tortorella said, referencing Friday’s game. “It could be an ugly game. It could be we don’t play nearly as good as we played the other night. But you need to keep your composure, go out your business and try to find a way to win. That’s very important for this team to go through these things.”

Tortorella said a stretch such as the last week can benefit the Jackets, who have the youngest roster in the NHL.

“You’re better ready for the playoffs when you go through some of the bumps,” he said. “So I don’t mind this. You hate losing, but they’re good teaching games, and it’s a good situation for a young team (to see) how you handle yourselves.”

Forwards Nick Foligno, Alexander Wennberg and Zac Dalpe didn’t practice Thursday. Tortorella said Foligno and Wennberg were given the day off for “maintenance,” while Dalpe is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171108/blue-jackets--rave-review-for-rookie-pierre-luc-dubois

Blue Jackets | Rave review for rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois By Steve Gorten – November 9, 2017

Even as they mulled their mistakes after a third consecutive loss Tuesday, the Blue Jackets couldn’t help but marvel at the moves Pierre-Luc Dubois made to manufacture their only goal.

“That was pretty special,” said wing Cam Atkinson, the Jackets’ points leader the past two seasons. “That’s a prime-time play right there, a prime-time goal.”

Noted coach John Tortorella, “I wish it stood for something.”

Dubois’ stick-poke and steal from the Nashville Predators’ P.K. Subban in the neutral zone, his surprising sprint up ice, and his forehand-backhand finish top-shelf on goalie Pekka Rinne — a sequence that tied the score at 4:37 of the third period — turned out to be a footnote in a 3-1 loss at Nationwide Arena.

But that theft from an offensively skilled defenseman, and the “unbelievable move” on one of the league’s top goalies, “shows what kind of player he is,” captain and linemate Nick Foligno said afterward.

It reminded observers why the Jackets selected the 6-foot-3, 207-pound forward third overall in the 2016 NHL draft, why there was no suspense last month about whether he’d be sent back to juniors after nine games, and why Tortorella trusted the 19-year-old rookie enough to try him on a line with Foligno and Josh Anderson two games ago.

“Step by step, he’s getting better and better,” Tortorella said. “He’s feeling more confident. His legs are moving. He’s won a lot of puck battles of late. We’re beginning to see a little of what he is.”

In those few seconds Tuesday, Dubois flashed his array of skills. Having just come off the bench, he skated out farther than he should have. But it proved to be a fruitful mistake. Dubois correctly anticipated which way Subban would go with the puck, extended his stick, stripped Subban and bolted for a breakaway as the stunned Subban and Alexei Emelin chased hopelessly.

“What I liked was his acceleration because I thought he was going to get caught,” Tortorella said.

Dubois showed his promise on opening night when he scored against the New York Islanders in his NHL debut. But after logging more than 14 minutes of ice time in that game and more than 15 minutes in the next one, he fell into a role on the fourth line and received just 4:17 in the sixth game, at Winnipeg.

Tortorella slid Dubois to center, hoping to get him to move his feet more. It worked.

“The biggest thing that’s improved in his game is his legs are always moving now,” Tortorella said. “That’s really helped him.”

After 11 games without a point, Dubois notched an assist Thursday at Florida and another one Saturday at Tampa Bay. On Tuesday, he scored his second NHL goal.

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“I’ve been getting chances lately,” Dubois said. “I think I’ve been playing better and better, and I’m getting more and more confident every game. Skating with Foligno and Anderson helps a lot.”

Atkinson said Dubois is making quick progress.

“He’s starting to use his big frame to his advantage,” Atkinson said. “When he plays like he did (Tuesday), where he plays with the puck and plays hard down low, he’s going to be a hell of a player for many, many years.”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171108/blue-jackets--werenski-jones-paired-on-first-power-play- unit

Blue Jackets | Werenski, Jones paired on first power-play unit By Steve Gorten – November 9, 2017

The Blue Jackets’ power play has fizzled all season, but coach John Tortorella suspects that he has figured out a way to make it sizzle. For the second consecutive game Tuesday, Tortorella used defensemen Zach Werenski and Seth Jones on the first unit instead of Werenski and four forwards. The Jackets were 0-for-4 with a man-advantage against the Predators — the 12th game this season that they’ve failed to produce a power-play goal — and their NHL-worst success rate dipped to 10.4 percent. Nonetheless, “quite honestly, I thought that first power play looked good all night long,” Tortorella said. “We’re close.” Tortorella said he tried Werenski and Jones because the Jackets’ power play, which has posted five goals in 49 chances, has struggled dating to the last quarter of 2016-17 while being run through center Alexander Wennberg. He wasn’t on either of the two units Tuesday. Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno and Artemi Panarin rounded out the first unit. “I like the look of it right now,” said Tortorella, adding that he’ll stick with Werenski and Jones together. “I still think there’s opportunities to shoot. (Panarin) has to be ready to shoot.” Noted Atkinson, “We just have to put the puck in the back of the net. That’s the only thing I’d change. “We were more comfortable toward the end moving around and making plays and finding seams,” he added. Welcome return Atkinson logged 23:45 of ice time in his first game back after missing four because of a lower-body injury and illness. “It was a lot of ice time for him, but I thought that line was close most of the night, and he brought some energy to it,” Tortorella said. Atkinson, who was on the power play and penalty kill, poked fun at himself for forgetting the puck in a breakout. “For the most part, I felt pretty good,” he said. “There were times where there wasn’t much I could do. “I was getting thrown out there a lot. I love that, though. That’s what I want. As the game went on, I felt my wind starting to get a little better.” Slap shots The Jackets took Wednesday off. They’ll return to practice Thursday in preparation for their fifth set of back-to-back games: Friday vs. Carolina and Saturday at Detroit. ... After allowing three power-play goals the previous night, the Jackets killed off all four Predators power plays. They’ve killed off all but two of 24 power plays for opponents at Nationwide Arena this season.

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https://theathletic.com/151444/2017/11/09/early-season-struggles-cost-alexander-wennberg-a-spot- on-blue-jackets-power-play/

Early-season struggles cost Alexander Wennberg a spot on Blue Jackets' power play By Aaron Portzline – November 9, 2017

First came the one-on-one meetings with John Tortorella, then the video clips meant to show Alexander Wennberg specifically where he's gone wrong on the ice. But after a 6-4 loss to Los Angeles last month, when Wennberg's line was picked apart by the Kings' top trio, Tortorella went a step further. Wennberg was dropped in the lineup, essentially, into a third-line role. The past two games have brought more changes in the wrong direction: Wennberg, the team's most talented center, has lost his spot on the power play. “I'm doing it because I need to get his game (going),” Tortorella said. “I've told you, I think he's a great player, but he's not playing great right now. And, quite honestly, he's been given a lot of rope to try and get his game together. “I think he will. I think little by little his game is beginning to come. But I'm not going with, 'Put him on the power play to get his game going.' I've tried that. A little bit of the onus has to be done with the player here also, to try and get himself straightened out.” When the Blue Jackets host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday in Nationwide Arena, Wennberg will likely be between left winger Artemi Panarin and right winger Cam Atkinson. That's the No. 1 line that was so highly anticipated at the start of the season. Panarin, a high-octane, high-scoring forward, came over in an offseason trade with Chicago. Wennberg had a breakout season in 2016-17 with 46 assists. Atkinson led the club with 35 goals. Wennberg sounded a bit dejected Thursday. He hasn't yet found chemistry with Panarin. The Blue Jackets' power play is ranked last in the NHL at a woeful 10.4 percent. It would be highly unfair to place both of those matters entirely at Wennberg's feet. And yet on a team with so many questions at center ice, the Blue Jackets need their No. 1 center to be a No. 1 center. “I'm not really playing the way I want,” Wennberg said. “I want to play better. I want to help the team a little bit more. It's up to me to bring it. “Be more aggressive. Skate more. You have to get involved in the game. Obviously, they want me to score goals and make points. But you have to start with the small things. After that, you build.” It's not uncommon for a club to let its power-play frustration seep into its five-on-five play. So it is with individuals, too. Wennberg is such a gifted passer, and he has such good vision and anticipation with the puck, that the Blue Jackets started running the power play through him on the right-side half-wall last season. He had two goals and 21 assists just on the power play. So far this season, he has one point — an assist — with a man advantage. The power play was stagnant, with too few shots on goal and spotty puck retrieval.

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Starting two games ago, Tortorella put defenseman Zach Werenski in Wennberg's spot and added defenseman Seth Jones to run the point in the Blue Jackets' 1-3-1 configuration. Asked if the power-play struggles had bled into the rest of his game, Wennberg was honest. “A little bit,” he said. “You want it to work so bad, and sometimes you don't get the bounces, you can't find the back of the net. It gets in your head a little bit. You can't let it affect you, though. You have to shake it off. “I feel like I have to be better. I know Torts wants me to be better as well. It's not all about the power play, it's the whole game. Special teams are important, but you have to play well five-on-five as well.” This is not a case of a veteran coach writing off a young player. Tortorella took care to make clear Thursday. “(Wennberg's) a better player than he's played,” he said. “We've had one-on-one meetings, we've shown (him) video, we've gone through the gamut. Sometimes, you know what? You lose ice time. “I've always said to you guys (the media), I'm not interested in benching people. That's an easy thing for a coach to do. I don't want to do that to him. I think it hurts our team. But he has to show me that he's willing to give, too. “I'm not looking to kick him, I'm looking to try and help him. I think if he gets his game back, we've got something going up the middle of the ice. I think his game has improved, but it depends on what standard you're looking for. I'm certainly looking for a higher standard.” Wennberg sounded fully aware of where he stands with Tortorella. “Torts is fair,” Wennberg said. “He plays the guy he thinks is best. Right now, I'm not playing good enough. “It's not a matter of what Torts does. It's what I do with my ice time. If I start to play good again, I'm going to earn more ice time.” It's one of those times when a coach is looking for a response. Losing a spot on the power play is not a small matter. “I hope (Wennberg) jams it to me,” Tortorella said. “I hope he shows me … 'What the hell are you doing?' “If he does — and I think he will — we're going to be a much better team and he'll be a much better player.” Notebook — With the Blue Jackets down 2-1 late in regulation against Nashville on Tuesday, Werenski had a golden chance to bury a power-play goal and tie the score. A nifty sequence of passing — Atkinson below the goal line, to Foligno at net-front, over to Werenski — ended when Werenski's shot sailed a few feet wide. — Werenski said he's learned to not let what-could-have-beens drag him down. “I kind of forgot about it right away, honestly,” he said. “It's part of the game. It's one of those, obviously, where I would have liked to score, but you have to take the good with the bad and that was one of those bad moments. I slept fine (Tuesday) night. It's part of it. It's a hard game and obviously that's a tough moment I'd like to have back, but you can't dwell on it.”

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— More Werenski, when asked if the puck bounced on him: “No, I just missed it. One of those. It was a little in front. It was just kind of a quick reaction, but I just missed it. If I knew who was behind me or how much time I had, I probably would have stopped it, and put it in. But you can't take it back now. You have to move forward.” — Here's Werenski on his new spot on the power play. He's moved from the point to the right-side half- wall. “It's different. I was telling (assistant coach Brad Larsen) today, it's like a foreign language. I'm used to the top, seeing everybody, so my options are a little different. I really like it. It's just to get me shooting more, just being a threat to shoot from there.” — Wennberg, Nick Foligno and Zac Dalpe all missed practice today. Wennberg and Foligno were taking “maintenance” days, while Dalpe has an upper-body injury. — Tortorella said he wasn't sure if he'd dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen again Friday as he did Tuesday vs. Nashville. — Asked Pierre-Luc Dubois if the awe of playing against NHL stars has begun to fade. On Tuesday, he didn't look the least bit shy in stripping the puck from Nashville's P.K. Subban and scoring a highlight reel goal past Pekka Rinne. “I think it's passed,” Dubois said. “Growing up, I watched a lot of (Subban) with the Canadiens. They were always on RDS. The Habs aren't my favorite team, but he was an exciting player to watch. I got to play against him in the preseason this year and last year. Plus, being with all the great players here (in Columbus), you get used to it.” — Here's Cam Atkinson on the topic of getting past being star-struck: “I still remember my first exhibition game. It was in Washington. I started. I was playing with (R.J.) Umberger and (Antoine) Vermette. I lined up next to (Alex) Ovechkin for the opening faceoff. I have a picture of it. That's kind of getting thrown into the fire. It's awesome to be kind of star-struck. The coolest part is getting to know the guys on a more personal level over the years. But, for me, once you play against guys once, you get over it.” — Same topic, Foligno: “There's a honeymoon phase, I think, when you're playing against guys for the first time and you don't really know how the league works. That's probably why there are sophomore slumps, because guys start to think they've already made it. I remember early in my career, realizing that I'm on the ice with Chris Chelios. These guys you grew up idolizing … it's a big deal. But once you get that out of the way, you're just one of them. I think it's great, too, and I don't think guys should try to get away from that. You work hard to get to this level. You should enjoy it.” — Atkinson on Dubois' recent emergence: “It's night and day from the start of the season. I won't even talk about last year. He's showing everybody he can stick in this league. He's using his frame to his advantage. He's starting to learn that he's a big boy.”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171110/hurricanes-3-blue-jackets-1--frustration-builds-after- fourth-straight-loss

Hurricanes 3, Blue Jackets 1 | Frustration builds after fourth straight loss By Steve Gorten – November 10, 2017

The puck slid all the way down the ice and into an empty net, providing a frustrating punctuation the Blue Jackets have had to endure for three games in a row. The Blue Jackets lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 at Nationwide Arena on Friday night, giving up an empty-netter in the final minute as they scrambled desperately, and unsuccessfully, to get the tying goal — just like in losses to the Predators and Rangers to start this week. They lost their fourth consecutive game (0-3-1), and the refrain afterward was similar: The slow start was unacceptable, and they have to find a way to win games like this. “We’ve got to find a way to come out better. Our first (period) wasn’t very good. Most of the second, the same way,” said Brandon Dubinsky, who scored the Jackets’ lone goal 5:35 into the game. “We need to take a long look in the mirror at what type of team we are, how we’re successful and how we’re built,” Dubinsky added. “It’s not by trying to be fancy, making plays and trying to be run-and-gun. It’s about getting pucks beneath the other team’s hash marks and winning battles. We’re not doing enough of that.” Jordan Staal scored the tying goal at 3:50 of the second period and the winner at 8:54 of the third. The Jackets came up short even though they finished one of their worst first periods leading 1-0 and improved from the middle of the second period on. “The third period was our best period,” coach John Tortorella said. “We (had) four or five really good opportunities with the right people with the puck on their sticks, and we don’t get it done. So no matter how bad we were, we still had a chance to win it, and we just don’t find a way in the third.” Sergei Bobrovsky was stellar, finishing with 26 saves. His counterpart, Cam Ward, made 25 stops, including a stretching, left-toe save on Cam Atkinson’s breakaway six minutes into the final period. “We’ve got to score more than one goal,” said center Alexander Wennberg, whose Jackets have mustered only that the past two games. Dubinsky’s goal, his second of the season, came off a stellar stretch pass from Tyler Motte that spanned the blue lines. The sprinting Dubinsky bore down on Ward on a mini-breakaway and flipped the puck over him with a backhand when Ward went low. The Hurricanes pulled even after the Jackets turned over the puck in their end. Noah Hanifin deftly faked a shot that drew Bobrovsky out of position, and then passed the puck to Staal, who tapped it into an open net. The Jackets had two power plays but were unable to set up in the offensive zone on the first one, eliciting boos from the crowd. On the second opportunity, they tallied three shots but came up empty for the 11th consecutive power play. “We’ve got to get back to who we are,” Dubinsky said. “I don’t think that was an indicator of who we are tonight. So we’ve got to rectify that immediately.”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171110/blue-jackets--mottes-role-may-be-diminished

Blue Jackets | Motte’s role may be diminished By Steve Gorten – November 10, 2017

Tyler Motte played so well in his first two games with the Blue Jackets that coach John Tortorella said the forward gave him no choice but to keep him in the lineup. Unfortunately for Motte, who played Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes for the sixth consecutive game, Cam Atkinson’s return from injury and lack of stability at center on the fourth line might limit his role moving forward. In Atkinson’s first game back Tuesday, Motte received just 5:16 of ice time against the Predators, nearly 13 minutes fewer than the previous night against the Rangers. Tortorella said that wasn’t a reflection of Motte’s performance. “His game is chasing down pucks, making things happen that way,” Tortorella said. “I played him in different situations. I didn’t have him on a top-six line. That certainly changed the landscape for him. I’m happy with his game.” On Friday, for the third time in six games, Tortorella used seven defensemen and just 11 forwards. Wing Sonny Milano was a healthy scratch for the second time. Zac Dalpe, recovering from an upper-body injury, also didn’t play. That left fourth-line wings Motte and Markus Hannikainen without a center and regular shifts. “It’s a little different being a little less involved in the game. You feel like you have a little less impact maybe,” said Motte, who played 33 games with the Blackhawks last season before coming to the Blue Jackets in the Artemi Panarin trade. “But ice time is not something I can control. No matter the situation I’m put in, I’m just going to compete to the best of my ability and try to get results.” Motte, who scored a goal in each of his first two games with the Panthers, said he wants to return to “having that same step and same speed” as he did Oct. 30 against the Bruins and Nov. 2 at the Panthers, and “continue to play with it.” Slap shots Backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo is 1-3 with a 3.28 goals-against average and .896 save percentage, but has played well and wasn’t at fault for either of the two goals the Predators scored on him. “Whenever you put your second goalie in and you have an opportunity to get points like we did, and we didn’t, that’s frustrating to me,” Tortorella said. “But Korpi certainly gave us a chance.” ... Expect Atkinson to continue to be used extensively on penalty kills and power plays. “Since I’ve been here, he’s probably the guy I look to most for every opportunity to get him on the ice,” Tortorella said. “And he deserves it.”

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https://theathletic.com/151793/2017/11/10/portzline-long-suffering-power-play-must-shoot-its-way- to-success-for-blue-jackets/

Long-suffering power play must shoot its way to success for Blue Jackets By Aaron Portzline – November 10, 2017

The Blue Jackets' power-play struggles are so profound and prolonged that even Zach Werenski's hard- to-believe misfire from the doorstep Tuesday is being measured as progress. Werenski should have been the “toe” in a tic-tac-toe sequence late in a game vs. Nashville. Cam Atkinson centered the puck from behind the net (tic) and Nick Foligno one-touched it across the goal mouth (tac), leaving Werenski all alone with a yawning net before him. He fired wide (doh!). The Jackets could have used the goal, quite obviously. It would have tied the score 2-2 with 3:31 remaining in regulation, a game they went on to lose 3-1. But the fact that Atkinson and Foligno and Werenski generated such a scoring chance is being held up as proof that the Blue Jackets' NHL-worst power play is beginning to warm. Hey, baby steps. “I think we're close,” John Tortorella said. The Blue Jackets, led by assistant coach Brad Larsen, have made radical changes to the top unit over the last week, with only one player — Artemi Panarin — maintaining his role on the left half-wall. Seth Jones, who had been on the No. 2 unit for more than a year, was elevated to play the point on the top unit, moving Werenski to the right half-wall, which was Alexander Wennberg's old spot. On Tuesday, Foligno was the distributor in the slot and Atkinson played net-front. “I like the two defensemen (Jones, Werenski) together on that first power play,” Tortorella said. “They have a great feel for each other. I can just see 'Z' thriving over there in that spot. “We have to get a little luck. Keep simplifying as best we can and I think we'll find our way.” Tortorella continues to bang the drum for more shots on goal. That's the reason Werenski was chosen to take over the right side for Wennberg, who has always been pass-first. Now he needs to fix Panarin on the left side. He has yet to score a power-play goal. “There have been a couple of plays where it gets to Panarin and he wants to make one extra pass over to 'Z' and he has a lane clear to put the puck to the net,” Tortorella said. There is no systematic flaw with the Blue Jackets' approach, Tortorella insisted. There is no secret answer that opposing penalty kills have figured out, a way to stymie the Jackets. “The places to shoot pucks are there; we just want to make an extra pass,” Tortorella said. “You have to end up getting a 2-on-1 somewhere. You're up a man! “It's a simple way of thinking, but we have to just start taking what they give us. Don't make it more difficult because you want to make another nice pass.”

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We took a closer look at Tortorella's theory that the Jackets aren't shooting enough. In the first 46 games of last season — when the power play was tops in the NHL — the Blue Jackets averaged 1.29 shots on goal during their 140 power plays. (Keep this in mind: The Jackets scored on 35 of 180 shots during that span, so that's 35 power plays that ended early and 35 pucks that couldn't be retrieved for further shots on goal during the same man- advantage.) But in the 52 games since then, the Jackets are averaging 1.31 shots on goal per power play. In 16 games this season, the power play is 5 of 48 (10.4 percent) and the Jackets have averaged 1.27 shots on goal per power play. It's a marginal difference. “We did everything but score,” Foligno said, referring to the late-game power play vs. Nashville. “I loved the movement on the power play, the way we looked. “Guys are shooting. 'Z' is shooting a ton. Once one goes in, we'll be OK. But we have to get one in. We have to find a way.” What's worrying about all this, however, is that the Blue Jackets have been “finding their way” since the middle of last season. After scoring two power-play goals in a 7-6 win in Ottawa last Jan. 22, the Blue Jackets were first in the NHL at 25.0 percent. Then the floor gave way. In 52 games since then, the Blue Jackets are 12 of 119 (10.1 percent) on the power play, by far the worst in the NHL during that span. Put another way: — Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov has more power-play goals (14) — all by himself! — than the Blue Jackets during that span. Washington's Alex Ovechkin (12) has the same number. — The Vegas Golden Knights have scored the same number of power-play goals (12) … and they didn't start play until this season.

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https://theathletic.com/152703/2017/11/10/stuck-in-muck-vs-carolina-blue-jackets-drop-fourth- straight/

Stuck in muck vs. Carolina, Blue Jackets drop fourth in a row By Aaron Portzline – November 10, 2017

The Blue Jackets spent most of Thursday's brief practice doing one-on-one battle drills, driving hard to the net, winning pucks in the corner … all of the grunt work that is said to win games.

There were two reasons John Tortorella took this tack: first, because the Blue Jackets didn't do enough to get to the net in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Nashville, but also because the Jackets need to find ways to score greasy goals until top-line players like Artemi Panarin and Alexander Wennberg can get the frost off their fingertips.

On Friday, the worst possible opponent for the current Blue Jackets rolled into Nationwide Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes are not among the NHL's elites, and they may not make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But they play a style that demands patience, hard work and smart decisions with the puck. The Blue Jackets played like they were stuck in fly tape, losing 3-1 to Carolina before 16,049 fans who had very little to cheer.

“It's one of the tougher teams to get through,” Tortorella said. “They're very arrogant as far as standing up on that blue line and taking a chance. They've got really good sticks.

“If you talk to a lot of teams that play against Carolina, it's one of their biggest strengths, how hard it is to get in their end zone.”

Two points of clarification:

Tortorella using the word arrogant is meant as the highest compliment. He means the Hurricanes are bold, fearless, up in your face.

“They press ya,” he said. “They're fast. They're a good team. They're a very fast team. They sit on you. They had really good sticks tonight. Give them some credit.”

To say Carolina is an ugly team to watch play hockey shouldn't be seen as an insult, either. Coach Bill Peters knows his players. He knows how they have to play to win. Who cares about the Q rating?

The Hurricanes are a wedding reception with no liquor. They're the hockey equivalent of Tressel-ball. They have star players — Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, Sebastian Aho, Justin Williams, Justin Fault, etc. — but they play a style in which everybody looks the same.

The best thing Tortorella could find to say about his club's play in the first period? “I thought we had some huge blocked shots.”

There were only snapshot moments where it looked like the Blue Jackets had space to make a play.

On one of them, Tyler Motte sprung Brandon Dubinsky for a clean shot at Carolina goaltender Cam Ward. It was 1-0 Blue Jackets only 5:35 into the game, but all downhill from there.

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“They swarm you; they don't give you a lot of time or space,” Dubinsky said. “When you're trying to make plays, you're trying to get too fancy. Once in a while, you'll get one through … I think Cam chipped one through to Wennberg. But the other nine out of 10 are going back the other way. I was a culprit a couple of times, too.

“All night they were in our faces and we didn't manage the puck very well.”

Tortorella was horrified by his club's first period, even though they led 1-0. He thought they got better beginning in the second period and controlled the third period.

But issues are starting to surface now for the Blue Jackets, who are 9-7-1 after their current 0-3-1 dip.

Once again, the Blue Jackets dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, making a healthy scratch of Sonny Milano, who scored the OT game-winner to end a mucky game in Raleigh last month.

Yes, the Blue Jackets have injuries: Matt Calvert (upper body), Lukas Sedlak (high-ankle sprain) and Zac Dalpe (upper body) are injured. But this organization doesn't have 12 forwards worth dressing?

As much as the Blue Jackets are searching for forward lines — Tortorella's blender was on 'liquify' most of Friday — they're searching for an identity, too.

They needed to get pucks deep against Carolina on Friday. They wanted to play the smallish Hurricanes below the hash marks, to pound them in the corners and wear them down over long shifts with high possession.

But they never got there.

“(We have to) take a look in the mirror at what type of team we are, how we're successful and how we're built,” Dubinsky said. “It's not by being fancy and making plays and playing run and gun. It's about getting pucks beneath the other team's hash marks and winning battles. We're not doing that right now, and the results show it.

“We have to figure out who we are. Right now, I'm not sure if we know who we are.”

Notebook — Motte was the Blue Jackets' best forward. The pass to Dubinsky was stellar — his first assist with Columbus — and he drew a penalty later in the game.

— Here's Dubinsky on Motte: “He's been a spark since he's come in. He can make plays. He's got wheels. He's got good instincts. And he works. That's why he's getting rewarded with an opportunity to be here in the lineup every night.”

— Motte played 11:42. Asked to evaluate his play, he said: “You're never happy losing.”

— More from Motte: “They had good sticks, especially early on. Anytime we were picking our heads up to make a play, they had a stick on the puck. They got to their game early in the first period and we didn't get to ours. That's the telltale sign of how the game went.”

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— Here's Tortorella on Motte: “Played fast, drew a penalty. Forechecked well. He brought some attention to himself. He stood out with his skating. He got some minutes. He did what he needs to do. He needs to forecheck. He drew a big penalty for us; we don't do anything with it.”

— Oh, right. The power play. The Blue Jackets went 0-for-2 and are now 5-for-50 on the season. Easy math.

— The Blue Jackets have lost four straight for the first time since late last season. “You can't get into panic mode,” Tortorella said. “The No. 1 thing is, we have to figure out our starts and make our team play a 200-foot game. I think it's easier on the road. We need to get some guys untracked. Cam had a number of opportunities tonight, hasn't found his way. Panarin hasn't found his way. Wenny hasn't found his way. So we have to help them get through it and get them going, not just rely on secondary scoring.”

— Atkinson had six shots on goal, including a breakaway early in the third. Ward stopped him with his left pad.

— The Jackets tried to fly to Detroit postgame but had issues with the plane, so they'll head up in the morning. No morning skates.

— By the end of the game, captain Nick Foligno was back on the wing, not playing center. I'd try to give you the lines, but it looks like that scene in A Beautiful Mind.

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171111/blue-jackets-2-red-wings-1-so--johnson-stops-four-game- slide-with-goal-in-ninth-round-of-shootout

Blue Jackets 2, Red Wings 1, SO | Johnson stops four-game slide with goal in ninth round of shootout By Steve Gorten – November 11, 2017

DETROIT — It took more than just a little extra hockey for the Blue Jackets on Saturday night, but they finally snapped their four-game losing streak.

Jack Johnson scored in the ninth round of a goalie-dominated shootout to give the Jackets a 2-1 win against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena, where a contingent of Columbus fans in the corner chanted “CBJ! CBJ!” afterward.

“We needed it in a big way,” said center Brandon Dubinsky.

“It’s a little bit of relief,” added goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Red Wings had won their past 12 shootouts, but all of their shooters came up empty against Bobrovsky after Frans Nielsen scored in the first round. Artemi Panarin, who gave the Jackets a 1-0 lead just 67 seconds into the game, converted in the second round. Bobrovsky and Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard were impenetrable from then on until Johnson scored.

In rounds three through eight, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Zach Werenski, Dubinsky, Alexander Wennberg, Boone Jenner and Nick Foligno all had a chance to end it, but none could. Johnson did.

″(Howard) was feeling it and he was really challenging, so I knew I was going to go down and deke,” said Johnson, noting he didn’t know whether he’d go to his forehand or backhand but settled on the former because of bad ice.

By the ninth round, coach John Tortorella said, choosing who would shoot was essentially “a coin flip.” He said he didn’t want to send out Johnson but heard Cam Atkinson lobbying hard for Johnson to assistant coach Brad Larsen.

“When I asked Jack, Jack just turned around and said, ‘I’m good,’ ” Tortorella said. “I said, ‘You’re really good at this?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’ ... So he’s in the top three now.”

In the dressing room, Johnson conceded he hadn’t participated in a shootout since his days in Los Angeles.

“So he lied to me then,” Tortorella said with a smile.

Before the marathon shootout — the Jackets’ franchise record is 11 rounds in a 2006 win against Calgary and a 2009 loss to Chicago — came five frenetic minutes of overtime.

“They both made some massive saves,” Dubinsky said of Bobrovsky and Howard. “I don’t think I’ve seen an overtime quite like that before — ever. Two-on-zeros, breakaways, 2-on-1s. The fans got their money’s worth.”

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The most memorable of the saves came on a two-on-none Red Wings rush. Stretched out on the ice, Bobrovsky made a kick save of Andreas Athanasiou’s shot that will be remembered.

“It was such an amazing save we actually started almost laughing,” Johnson said.

“It’s never a play you want to see,” Werenski said of the two-on-none. “You feel like you don’t really have an advantage, and you look and see who’s in the net, Bob, and anything’s possible. He showed everyone that. That was save of the year, for sure.”

“Honestly, I can’t even remember what happened there,” Bobrovsky said. “I just played the puck and I was fortunate the puck hit my heel.”

He said he didn’t have a choice but to come through.

“I just felt, ‘I have to stop it. We need two points.’ ”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171111/blue-jackets--aircraft-issues-cause-delay-in-flight-to-detroit

Blue Jackets | Aircraft issues cause delay in flight to Detroit By Steve Gorten – November 11, 2017

DETROIT — The Blue Jackets flew to Detroit on Saturday morning because of mechanical issues with their airplane after Friday night’s home game. The team’s plane was preparing for takeoff when the decision not to fly was made. The change of plans was helpful, if anything, forwards Nick Foligno and Cam Atkinson said. “It changes up the routine a little bit,” Atkinson said. “I think it’s good for the team.” The Jackets had a flight from Carolina to Chicago grounded last season. Before flying charter, the Jackets used to have their own private plane. “Never had an issue with that old bird,” Foligno said. “Scared the hell out of you, but it was Mr. Reliable.” Homecoming for Z Defenseman Zach Werenski, who grew up in the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe, said he expected to have 30 to 35 friends and family members at the game. “I was really excited last year when I got to play in the Joe (Louis Arena),” Werenski said. “It’s the building I grew up coming to games in, playing in. It’s definitely nice to come here and see the new building and what they’re doing to the city.” It also was a memorable return to the Motor City for former University of Michigan standouts Jack Johnson and Tyler Motte. Both played college games at the Joe, and Motte, who hails from St. Clair, Michigan, said he also played youth hockey there. This season is the Red Wings’ first at Little Caesars Arena. Veteran appreciation Saturday marked Veteran’s Day as well as Military Appreciation Night at the arena, with the Red Wings wearing camouflage jerseys. Tortorella’s son, Nick, is serving as a U.S. Army Ranger. “When I hear that anthem, I say three prayers,” Tortorella said. “The first prayer is for the people who gave their lives to give us these freedoms. The second prayer is for the people still doing it right now. And the third prayer is for my family. That’s what that stands for me, that flag and that anthem. That’s an emotional thing.” Back-to-back Bob Sergei Bobrovsky started in goal for the second consecutive night. In four previous sets of back-to- backs, he played both games just once — Oct. 13 vs. the Rangers and Oct. 14 at the Wild.

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https://theathletic.com/152900/2017/11/11/can-a-sleeper-become-a-star-blue-jackets-are-banking-on- maxime-fortier/

Can a sleeper become a star? Blue Jackets are banking on Maxime Fortier By Aaron Portzline – November 11, 2017

At the end of each NHL draft, GMs and amateur scouting directors have a surprisingly long list of draft- worthy players who didn't go off the board. One of the names on the Blue Jackets' list after the past two drafts: forward Maxime Fortier. Fortier is 5-foot-10, 184 pounds, so his size doesn't demand attention. Two years ago, many scouts thought he was just the best player on a bad Halifax club. Last season, Fortier was on a dominant line in Halifax with No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier, but many credited Hischier for lifting Fortier's game. And so he sat in the stands, torturously, through the drafts in Buffalo and Chicago without hearing his name on either day. “Credit to him,” said Chris Morehouse, the Blue Jackets' assistant director of amateur scouting. “It could have gone down two different roads, and he's obviously used those drafts as motivation.” Fortier went to development camp and was a free-agent invite in training camp with the Montreal Canadiens, turning down offers from several other NHL teams, including the Blue Jackets. “I thought maybe we wouldn't see him again,” said Blue Jackets scout Stephane LeBlanc, who covers the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. “I was a little concerned. I thought he had a good chance to sign there.” But when Fortier (FOR-tee-ay) left Montreal's camp without a contract, the Blue Jackets hunkered down. “The first day he came back to Halifax after getting cut, I went to see him play that night, and he was the best player on the ice,” LeBlanc said. “There's no quit in this guy. Despite all of the disappointments, he always kept getting better and not discouraged.” LeBlanc had seen more than 100 games involving Fortier, and others from the Blue Jackets' organization flew to see him play — assistant general manager Bill Zito, director of player personnel Basil McRae, and scouting director Ville Siren, among others. Word around the 'Q' was that other NHL teams were circling, too. “We want to pull the trigger rather than wait when we get messages from our scouts saying, this guy should be signed NOW,” Jarmo Kekalainen said. “We act on it quickly so we don't lose the player and so it doesn't become a bidding war.” The Blue Jackets signed Fortier, 19, to a three-year, entry-level contract Monday. “It's the classic story, the guy that everybody's hoping to hit a home run on,” Kekalainen said. “There are several examples around the league of guys who get overlooked because of their size, but they're high- scoring guys. “Then they get a contract and they have a good NHL career. We wouldn't sign a player if we didn't think he had a chance to play in the NHL.”

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Fortier had a breakout season in 2015-16: 31-46-77 in 68 games. He went a step further last season, with 32-55-87 in 68 games. But this season … In 20 games, he has 13-15-28 and a plus-11 rating. (He's currently day-to-day with a minor shoulder injury.) “We liked his progression up to last season,” LeBlanc said. “But this year we thought he was even better, like he's added layers to his game.” One of the challenges in the art of scouting is learning to trust your eyes, not allow them to view a player through a filter created by other people's observations or rankings. Too often, scouts end up building a consensus on a player. Nobody wants to disagree with the loudest voice in the room, and some lack the courage to stand alone in support of one player. Kekalainen, Zito, McRae and Siren have tried to foster an environment without a pack mentality, Morehouse said. “There are a lot of moving parts on something like this, but it doesn't happen without Steph (LeBlanc) beating the door down for this kid,” Morehouse said. “And it doesn't happen without Billy Zito and Jarmo really believing in us and trusting our opinions (as scouts). “This kid, he just keeps doing it and doing it. If you see him enough, it just smacks you in the face how he does it over and over again. Every night he goes hard. Every night he creates offensive chances. You can't miss him on the ice. You can't ignore him, either.” Fortier gives the Blue Jackets two top-10 scorers in the QMJHL. In 2016, they drafted and signed another dynamic talent, Vitaly Abramov, who is back for another year with Gatineau. “They're both smaller players, but they play a different style,” LeBlanc said. “Abramov is a crease- crasher, amazing hands, great shots … he does all that and he's always right on the goalie. “Fortier doesn't play with the reckless abandon, like Vitaly. But he's a hard worker, on the puck all the time and creates offense all the time, every shift.” The Blue Jackets also admired the way he handled his two draft snubs and not getting a contract from Montreal. “He's a very positive kid and he has a dream to play in the NHL,” LeBlanc said. “He's not going to let anything get in his way.”

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https://theathletic.com/153305/2017/11/12/anatomy-of-a-save-sergei-bobrovsky-rescues-blue-jackets- with-remarkable-stop-in-2-1-win/

Anatomy of a save: Sergei Bobrovsky rescues Blue Jackets with remarkable OT stop in 2-1 win By Tom Reed – November 12, 2017

DETROIT — John Tortorella didn’t see the save of the season in real time. The Blue Jackets coach didn’t witness the overtime stop that produced disbelief among Red Wings fans inside Little Caesars Arena and laughter on the Columbus bench. “I was too busy yelling at Bread for turning the puck over,” Tortorella said. “Bread” is winger Artemi Panarin, who Saturday night played one of his best games as a Blue Jacket right up to the moment he was stripped of the puck by Andreas Athanasiou with 1:33 remaining in OT and the score knotted at 1-1. There was about 160 feet of open ice between the Red Wings forward, who forced overtime with a third-period tally, and Sergei Bobrovsy. About 160 feet separating Columbus from its fifth consecutive loss. And if the situation weren’t dire enough, Athanasiou had teammate Anthony Mantha alongside him for a 2-on-0 breakaway. The three Blue Jackets skaters, Panarin, Nick Foligno and Seth Jones, were hopelessly out of the play after the turnover. It's only November, but Bobrovsky grasped the importance of the moment. “I just felt we need points and I have to stop it,” the two-time Vezina Trophy winner said. Bobrovsky already had made 30 saves. He would deny Mantha on a breakaway less than 30 seconds later and stop eight more pucks in a nine-round shootout resulting in a Blue Jackets 2-1 victory. But everything that came before and after Bobrovsky’s sprawling right heel save is a mere footnote. Nothing in the game — nothing around the NHL Saturday — rose to the level of greatness the Russian goaltender delivered in the dying minutes of overtime when everyone watching in the arena and everyone watching on television thought Athanasiou had a tap-in for the winner. “When (Mantha’s) pass comes back, where we’re standing, it looks like an empty net,” Zach Werenski said. “Next thing you know, the puck is in the air and it’s not in (the net). We were just laughing at how incredible (Bobrovsky) is.” Hero and heel All night, Panarin had been generating the kind of plays the Blue Jackets had envisioned when they traded for him in June. He scored just his third goal 67 seconds into the contest on a beautiful feed from Oliver Bjorkstrand. The Russian finished with six shots and danced on his skates, waltzing around Red Wings defenders to create dangerous looks. Panarin and teammates had several quality chances to extend the lead to 2-0 — Josh Anderson drew a first-period penalty shot — but the Jackets couldn’t register a second goal for a third consecutive game. When Panarin was dislodged of the puck deep in the Red Wings’ zone, it appeared the missed opportunities would haunt the Jackets.

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Athanasiou roared up the right side before cutting to the middle, giving Mantha a lane and the Red Wings a two-man breakaway. “As they’re going up the ice, I’m saying to myself, ‘Find a way to make a save,’ ” Brandon Dubinsky recalled. So the Jackets center was confident Bobrovsky would thwart the Wings? “Of course not, it’s a 2-on-0,” Dubinsky said. “On a breakaway, I’d take Bobby every time and he shows that in a shootout, but a 2-on-0? You can’t ask your goalie to stop that.” Athanasiou carried the puck to the top of the circles before dishing it to Mantha. Bobrovsky slid across the crease to his left on his knees. As Mantha returned the puck to his teammate, the goalie dropped his stick and extended and twisted his right leg while falling to his belly. Athanasiou’s shot hit Bobrovsky’s right skate. “He shows how athletic he is,” Dubinksy said. “He shows all those hours he spends stretching and visualizing pay off.” Fans groaned as the puck flipped high in the air. But the biggest reaction came moments later as Tortorella and others watched the replay on the giant scoreboard above the ice. “Ohhhhhhhhhh.” “Bob made the save and it was such an amazing save we almost started laughing,” said Jack Johnson, who scored the shootout winner in the ninth round — two rounds short of tying a franchise record. “It was an incredible save. He doesn’t quit on a play even when he’s down and out.” “He’s our hardest worker,” Werenski added. “He never wants to get scored on in practice and it carries over to games.” In a matter of minutes, the replay made its way to social media. Not even the expanded 280 characters were enough for some fans to react. “What’s amazing to me with the save is Bob is pushing one way and usually that goaltender ends up in the corner,” Tortorella said. “The athletic ability and the strength of his legs to stop and get a little bit of pushback was just unbelievable.” Don’t forget we’re talking about a goaltender who was bedeviled by groin injures a few years back. Perhaps the worst reaction to the save came from the man who made it. “I honestly can’t remember what happened there,” Bobrovsky said. “I just played the puck and I was fortunate the puck hit my heel.” Second chance The most relieved person in the building was Panarin. This is why you trade your No. 72 for No. 9 when joining forces with Bobrovsky. The winger repaid him by scoring a goal in the second round of the shootout. On into the night the skills competition stretched as Bobrovsky and Jimmy Howard took turns frustrating opposing shooters until Johnson won it. It capped a strange and wild 24-hour period that saw the Jackets stay in Columbus following Friday night’s loss to Carolina due to mechanical issues with their charter flight. The team made the short trip to Detroit late Saturday morning.

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The change in itinerary was a popular pregame topic. But as the Blue Jackets packed their bags and returned to Columbus, the locker room and hockey world buzzed over the robbery — or is it Bobbery? — in overtime. “He showed why he is, in my opinion the best goalie in the world,” Dubinsky said. “He allows us to steal an extra point there. That’s a helluva a save. That’s probably the save of the year.” Notebook — The Red Wings had won their past 12 shootouts. — Johnson laughed about the fact he hadn't been a shootout participant since the 2014-15 season. Years ago, the defenseman had been a regular in the Kings' rotation and converted 10-of-34 chances in Los Angeles. Tortorella said Cam Atkinson was lobbying the coaches on the bench to use Johnson in the shootout. “I said (to Johnson), ‘Are you any good at these?’ ” Tortorella said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, good.’ That’s just how he is with that deadpan look. He’s in the top three now.” — The Jackets’ shootout record is 11 rounds, which they have reached twice. They won against Calgary in 2006 and lost to Chicago in 2009. — Tortorella, whose son, Nick, is an Army Ranger, was asked about Veterans Day before the game. He took the question in a slightly different direction. “When I hear that anthem, I say three prayers. The first one is for the people who gave us these freedoms, that gave their lives to give us these freedoms. The second prayer is for the people who are still doing it right now, and obviously the third prayer is for my family. That’s what that stands for for me — that flag and that anthem. It’s an emotional thing. I’ll leave it at that.”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171112/blue-jackets-notebook---bobrovskys-clutch-save-wows- coach

Blue Jackets notebook | Bobrovsky’s clutch save wows coach By Steve Gorten – November 12, 2017

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella missed seeing Sergei Bobrovsky’s spectacular overtime save on a two- on-none Saturday in real time because he “was too busy yelling at ‘Bread’ for turning the puck over.” But like everyone else, he was in awe when he saw the replay immediately afterward. Following Artemi Panarin’s turnover, the Jackets goaltender made a sprawling kick-save of Andreas Athanasiou’s shot with 1:30 left in the extra session of a 2-1 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings. It wound up being No. 1 on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Day. “The athletic ability and strength of his legs to stop and get a little bit of push back was just unbelievable,” Tortorella said. “It was an incredible save,” Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson said. “He doesn’t quit on a play, even when he’s down and out.” “From where we’re standing, it looks like an empty net, and the next thing you know the puck’s in the air and not in, and we were all just laughing at how incredible he is,” Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski recounted. “He doesn’t ever fail to amaze you. Every day in practice he’s our hardest worker. He never wants to get scored on in practice, and it carries over to games.” ‘Bread’ starting to bake Panarin scored his second goal in four games after having none the previous 10 games, and then he was successful in the shootout. “Those things start putting layers of confidence for a guy like him,” Tortorella said. “Hopefully, it will springboard him.” Tortorella said he has been “thrilled” with the other aspects of Panarin’s play, and added that the winger doesn’t get enough credit for “how hard he is on the puck.” “It’s something I didn’t know about him, how strong he is with it,” the coach noted. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to be a guy who is going to score goals and just hang out there and wait for the puck. He does his work.” Success not surprising Tortorella said playfully after the game that because Johnson scored the winner in the ninth round, he will be one of the team’s top three in shootouts going forward. Stats suggest maybe he should be. Among Blue Jackets players, Johnson’s career success rate in shootouts (30.8 percent, 12 for 39) trails only Panarin (70.0, 7 for 10), Cam Atkinson (34.4, 11 for 32), Alexander Wennberg (33.3, 6 for 18) and Boone Jenner (33.3, 2 for 6). Johnson was 1 for 4 with Columbus before Saturday’s goal. Scratched again Rookie winger Sonny Milano was a healthy scratch on Saturday for the second straight night as the Jackets again went with seven defensemen. Milano remains tied for second on the team with five goals,

27 despite having just one in the past 12 games he has played. He was scratched just once before to the past two games.

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https://theathletic.com/153489/2017/11/12/blue-jackets-jack-johnson-should-be-a-shootout-secret- no-more/

Jack Johnson should be a Blue Jackets shootout secret no more By Aaron Portzline – November 12, 2017

The Blue Jackets, like all NHL teams, track statistics that help them understand the game within the game. xGF. PDO. QoC. K scores. oiSV%. dZS%. The day-to-day conversations in most hockey operations departments can sound like an advanced algebra class. So how is it that Jack Johnson's shootout skills — an easy metric — have gone undiscovered in Columbus, even as the game is pulled apart to its very DNA? Johnson ended Saturday's 2-1 win in Detroit with a goal in the ninth round of a shootout, beating Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard with a deke to his backhand and a smooth tuck with his forehand beyond Howard's extended right pad. “(Assistant coach Brad Larsen) was telling me, and Cam (Atkinson) was telling me, 'Jack Johnson! Jack Johnson!' ” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “I said, 'I'm not using Jack. There are some other people.' “When I asked Jack, Jack just turned around said, 'I'm good.' I said, are you good at these? He said, 'Yeah, I'm good.' That's how Jack is, with that deadpan look.” Maybe it was Johnson's “no duh!” look. After Saturday's shootout goal, nobody on the Blue Jackets’ roster has scored more shootout goals in the NHL than Jack Johnson. He now has 12, in 39 career attempts (30.8 percent) putting him ahead of Atkinson (11) and Artemi Panarin (seven), who scored in the second round Saturday. Atkinson went first Saturday, and Panarin went second. This makes total sense. The rest of the batting order … Oliver Bjorkstrand (1 of 4 career), Zach Werenski (0 of 1), Brandon Dubinsky (4 of 16), Alexander Wennberg (6 of 18), Boone Jenner (2 of 6) and Nick Foligno (0 of 11!) should raise eyebrows going ahead of Johnson. “Lars says he's been telling me for a number of games now,” Tortorella said. “I don't believe him, but he says he has. “He's in the top three now.” All of this might sound familiar. The Blue Jackets beat Chicago 3-2 in a shootout Dec. 20, 2014, snapping a 12-game losing streak against the Blackhawks. It was a Saturday game. The shootout went nine rounds. And Jack Johnson ended it, beating Corey Crawford. Todd Richards was the Blue Jackets' head coach in 2014-15, and Larsen was in his first season as an assistant in Columbus, which explains why Larsen was imploring Tortorella to use Johnson on Saturday.

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But the odd thing is, after his game-winner against the Blackhawks, Johnson had taken only one more shootout attempt before Saturday. It was a March 13, 2015, win over Edmonton, in which Johnson was denied in the fourth round. Richards was fired seven games deep into the 2015-16 season. Johnson was a shootout regular with the Los Angeles Kings (10 of 34), routinely used in the first three rounds of a shootout. He's still one of the best shootout shooters in that franchise's history. But somehow during his trade to Columbus five-plus years ago, that part of his game was ignored. He's 2 of 5 with the Jackets. Asked if he expected to go Saturday, Johnson was honest. “No. No, I didn't.” But he watched intently from the bench. “I haven't done a shootout in a long time, so you're half watching for entertainment and half watching in case it goes a long way,” Johnson said. “Guys were shooting, not deking. Howie was feeling it and really challenging, so I knew I was going to go do down and deke. I just didn't know if I was going to go to my backhand or my forehand. I was skating down and the ice was pretty bad, so I decided to keep it on my forehand.” Sounds like a guy who knows what he's doing. Here are some more interesting stats since the shootout was introduced to the NHL in 2005-06: — Only one active NHL defenseman has scored more shootout goals than Johnson: Pittsburgh's Kris Letang is 23 of 63 (36.5 percent). Only two defensemen all-time have more goals than Johnson — Letang, and Sergei Zubov (13), who retired from the NHL after the 2008-09 season. — Johnson was traded to Columbus by Los Angeles late in the 2011-12 season, but is still fifth all-time on the Kings' shootout list. He had 10 shootout goals for L.A. Only Anze Kopitar (36), Dustin Brown (19), Jeff Carter and Jarret Stoll (13) have more. — Blue Jackets defensemen who have scored shootout goals: Fedor Tyutin (four), Jack Johnson (two) and James Wisniewski (one). — Among goaltenders who have faced 100 or more shootout attempts, Sergei Bobrovsky is 11th all-time with a .724 save percentage. Among active goaltenders, he's seventh. Those above him: Semyon Varlamov (.752), Marc-Andre Fleury (.740), Henrik Lundqvist (.738), Corey Crawford (.729), Tuukka Rask (.727), Antti Niemi (.725). — Bobrovsky's shootout save percentage in Philadelphia: .480. Yep, he stopped just 12 of 25 attempts, going 2-6. Since coming to Columbus, he's stopped 72 of 91 (.791) and is 17-9. — The Blue Jackets are 62-61 all-time in shootouts. Coin flip. — Frans Nielsen, who scored for Detroit in the first round Saturday, is the NHL's all-time leader in shootout goals scored. No, really. He's buried 46 of 93 (49.5 percent). He's also decided 20 games, the most ever. Frans Nielsen, ladies and gentlemen. — The Blue Jackets' all-time leader in SO goals is, of course, Rick Nash. He was 26 of 67 in a Blue Jackets sweater, deciding nine games (also tops). The rest of the Columbus top 10: Ryan Johansen and Cam Atkinson 11, Mark Letestu 10, Nikolay Zherdev eight, Kristian Huselius seven, Alexander Wennberg, David Vyborny and Jaroslav Balastik six, and Artem Anisimov five. — The highest-percentage shooter in Columbus franchise history, minimum 20 attempts, is Mark Letestu (10 of 22, 45.5 percent).

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171113/blue-jackets--sonny-milano-tries-to-learn-while-playing- less

Blue Jackets | Sonny Milano tries to learn while playing less By Josh Horton – November 13, 2017

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella has a predicament, and it has to do with rookie left wing Sonny Milano. Milano, a first-round draft pick in 2014, is struggling to get into the lineup as the Blue Jackets struggle to score goals. Milano has not played in the past two games and the Jackets have mustered only two regulation goals. Tortorella said Milano, who has five goals in 15 games, needs to become a more complete player to play more or even be in uniform for games. “Sonny needs to understand that the five-on-five play is very important to him to learn how to play in the National Hockey League,” Tortorella said. “He needs to learn how to put on the brakes in the defensive zone. He needs to understand positioning. “I’m not crazy about the time he’s missing, or even (defenseman Gabriel) Carlsson. It really bothers me for those two guys that they’re not getting ice time. But I still have to make the decision for what I think is best for that particular game.” If Tortorella feels Milano isn’t a viable option compared with other forwards on his roster, he could be sent to minor-league Cleveland and receive more ice time to polish his game. But Tortorella said it’s important for Milano to be with the Blue Jackets for now. “I want him in our meetings,” Tortorella said. “I think it’s important that he’s in our meetings. I think it’s important that he’s practicing with us. We’ll see.” Milano shared Tortorella’s sentiment. “I’d definitely rather be here with Torts,” Milano said. “That’s how I’m going to learn is being under his (wing) and learning and doing things that he wants me to do.” Milano said playing less doesn’t necessarily mean he’s learning less. Ice time in practice, watching games when he’s scratched and dissecting film have allowed Milano to slowly work toward rounding out his game. The tricky part is retaining his aggressive approach to offense while also being aware of his defensive responsibilities. “You’ve got to find the in-between there,” Milano said. “You don’t want to be nervous out there and just worry about defense. That’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to create offense. You still want to play your game, but you have to worry about these things.” Tortorella is confident he’ll strike that balance. “We continue to work with him,” Tortorella said. “But it’s really about understanding positioning five- on-five. He wants to learn, and he’ll get it. It’s taking some time, but he’ll get it.”

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171113/blue-jackets--oliver-bjorkstrands-play-draws-coachs-praise

Blue Jackets | Oliver Bjorkstrand’s play draws coach’s praise By Josh Horton – November 13, 2017

Second-year forward Oliver Bjorkstrand logged a season-high 19 minutes, 20 seconds in the Blue Jackets’ win at Detroit on Saturday, mostly due to his assertiveness on both ends. It brought praise from coach John Tortorella in Monday’s film session. “He checked,” Tortorella said. “Funny things happen when you check and the puck kind of comes your way, bounces your way. I thought it was a total turnaround in the game for him. “He’s a goal-scorer, he’s got a big-league shot. But he’s got to learn the other part of the game, too.” After recording an assist on Artemi Panarin’s goal in the Blue Jackets’ 2-1 shootout win over the Red Wings on Saturday, Bjorkstrand has five points over his last six games after posting six in his first 12. Wennberg out; Dalpe on IR Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg did not travel to Montreal after sitting out practice Monday at the Ice Haus. “He’s been nicked up,” Tortorella said. Center Zac Dalpe, who has missed the past three games, was placed on injured reserve. Forward Jordan Schroeder, who has five points in nine games with minor-league Cleveland, was called up. Losing Wennberg stings as it breaks up the most effective forward line against the Red Wings. Wennberg, Panarin and Bjorkstrand combined on the Blue Jackets’ only regulation goal, 1:07 into the game. “It was one of the better lines in the game in generating some offense and having the puck,” Tortorella said. Quebec homecomings Quebec natives Pierre-Luc Dubois and David Savard are returning to their home province for a game Tuesday night at the Montreal Canadiens. The experience will be especially significant for rookie forward Dubois, who expects about 15 friends and family members to attend his first NHL game at the Bell Centre. “I don’t think I’m going to be nervous,” Dubois said. “It’s fun, it’s in Montreal, my friends and family are going to be there. I think it’s just another game, another game that I need to play well and we’ll get two points. It’s going to be special to play in Montreal, but it’s like every other game.” Dubois practiced Monday at center and said he’ll play there Tuesday.

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171113/blue-jackets--team-looking-for-its-identity-coach-and- players-say

Team looking for its identity, coach and players say By Steve Gorten – November 13, 2017

Minutes after the Blue Jackets’ fourth consecutive loss Friday night, Brandon Dubinsky vented his frustration with himself and teammates. Everyone needed to “take a long look in the mirror” at the type of team this is, how it was built, what makes it successful. There was too much of players trying to be “run-and-gun” and make “fancy” plays instead of winning battles and getting pucks below opponents’ hash marks. Late Saturday afternoon, hours before the Jackets edged the Red Wings 2-1 in a nine-round shootout to temporarily stop the hemorrhaging, captain and fellow center Nick Foligno echoed Dubinsky’s sentiments that the Jackets have lost, or at least misplaced, their identity as a team. If you ask Coach John Tortorella, though, he’ll tell you the 2017-18 Jackets haven’t had an identity to lose. “I’m not sure we totally have gotten to our identity,” Tortorella said pregame Saturday. “If you don’t get there, I don’t think you can lose it. This is a big part of the season that we have to get that straightened out. I don’t think we’ve gotten there. So I won’t say we’ve lost it. We need to get there.” Nearly one quarter into this season, the Jackets have a 10-7-1 record. Through the first 18 games last season, they were 10-5-3. Like this year’s team, which plays at Montreal on Tuesday night, their next game was on the road. They won that and kept winning and winning and winning, amassing an amazing 17-0-1 record over their next 18 games and eventually finishing with franchise bests of 50 wins and 108 points. That success made this season’s four-game slide easier to stomach. “We’re not panicking at all in this room,” Foligno said. “Everyone outside wants to know what’s going on with the Blue Jackets? We’re still in good shape. It’s a mindset to me of understanding who we are. I’m not panicking because it’s not a problem that’s going to take a lot of time to fix. It’s understanding that we’re a team that needs to play a certain way.” Most recently, Tortorella said, the Jackets have played “too much east-west.” They need to be more dogged with the puck, go straight ahead, simplify their game, and “certainly play more under the hash marks.” “That was a trademark of our success last year in the regular season,” he noted. Atkinson said the Jackets have added skill to their lineup since last season, but can’t stop relying on a hard forecheck and playing physical. “All of our offense comes from that,” Atkinson said. “We’re not a team that goes end-to-end and makes pretty plays – tic-and-toe. We’ve shown signs of that. But we’re a blue-collar team and we’ve got to get back to playing the right way.”

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Added Foligno: “There’s a mandate of hard work, and a certain style we need to play. The skill complements that. It’s not the other way around. Right now, we’re caught in between, and you can see it in our game. “Our neutral zone, they’re just walking through us because we’re standing still,” Foligno continued. “When we finally get pucks down low, we create chances but we don’t shoot. We’re always looking for that next pretty pass, and we’re not that team. We’re a team where, when we get those opportunities, we’re going to bury them.” After scoring five goals four times in the first nine games, the Jackets have tallied three the past three games combined. They’ve also repeatedly gotten off to slow starts this season. Jackets players accept blame for most of that. But there’s also a sense that opponents are approaching matchups against Columbus different than last season. “Absolutely,” Foligno said, drawing out the word for emphasis. “Look how hard we play when we play against the elite teams in the league. And we have to start realizing we’re one of them. That’s not to be arrogant. It’s just the reality of what we’re grown into. Be proud of that. But know how hard it is to win. That’s what I tell people. It’s one thing to have the flash-in-the-pan years. But consistently doing it is playing to an identity each and every time. “You wonder, ‘Why does this team always find a way to win?’” Foligno continued. “They just know who they are. ...Right now, we’re fighting who we are. And we know who we are. That’s the disappointing part. It’s on us as leaders in that room to pull guys along, myself included. I haven’t been good enough.” Defenseman Zach Werenski said he also has noticed opponents playing the Jackets harder. “We’re not going to catch anybody by surprise,” Werenski said. “We have to up our game. Teams are doing that to us.” The Jackets’ identity on the ice, Atkinson said, should once again include playing with an edge. “I still think we don’t get enough respect,” he said. “Last year, we were out to prove people wrong. We still haven’t done, or won, anything. We had a good regular season last year and got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. We need to get back to playing with a chip [on our shoulders], playing with that swagger, that arrogance, that cockiness. We have to get back to that, and we’ll have success.”

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https://theathletic.com/154383/2017/11/13/for-blue-jackets-rookie-pierre-luc-dubois-support-is-just-a- phone-call-or-text-away/

For Blue Jackets rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois, support is just a phone call — or text — away By Aaron Portzline – November 13, 2017

Pierre-Luc Dubois' phone will buzz at some point Tuesday after the Blue Jackets have played the Montreal Canadiens in Bell Centre. Maybe it'll be just after the game in the dressing room, or perhaps a little while later when the Jackets are busing to the airport. “I only text him,” said Eric Dubois, his father. “If he wants to talk, he can call, but the call never comes from me first.” There are endless examples of overbearing, omnipresent hockey parents, especially in Canada, where the sport is a passion from British Columbia to Newfoundland. Eric Dubois has seen it up close, seen the effect the parents can have on their kids, and he vowed long ago never to be like that. So while hockey is a living for two generations of Dubois — Eric had a long pro career through the 1990s, coached Pierre-Luc in summer hockey well into his teens, and is now an assistant coach in the AHL — there's only one job that truly matters. “I try to be a dad first, not a coach first,” Eric Dubois said. “That was always my first goal in following Pierre-Luc and his hockey career. I want to be a dad to him and his sister more than anything else. “So the first question I want to know is, 'How's your day?' After that, maybe, it's 'How was the game?' But that's why I text him first. If he wants to talk, he'll call me. If not, everything's fine and we'll talk later.” Pierre-Luc Dubois said he'll have 10-15 members in the crowd Tuesday night for his first NHL game in Quebec. His sister, Daphne, who attends college in Montreal, will be there, along with his grandparents, some cousins, and friends. His parents, Eric and Jill, will be there in spirit. Eric is an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg, coaching, among others, Columbus native Jack Roslovic. “My dad will watch (Blue Jackets) games if he can,” Pierre-Luc said. “If I have questions, I can call him, but I have an amazing coaching staff right here that I can take questions to. “I've always communicated with my dad after pretty much every game in my career. He's always there to help, but he does a good job balancing the coach and the dad. There are times where I don't really feel like getting critiqued; I just want to talk about how life's going. And he's always understood this.” Pierre-Luc said having his father as a summer coach had its awkward moments, but the ground rules were set quickly. “He didn't give me anything I didn't deserve,” Dubois remembered. “When it was my turn to get yelled at, he yelled at me. I didn't take it weird because I knew that when I was at the rink he was my coach, and when I was home, he was my dad. “I can say this honestly, he never put any pressure on me. I know I'm lucky that way.”

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The two had a hearty laugh a couple of weeks ago when John Tortorella moved Dubois from left wing to center, saying he hoped the defensive responsibilities of center ice would force Dubois to start skating more. “Where have I heard this before?” Dubois said, laughing. “My dad used to put me at center to get my legs going when I was younger. When we talked that night, I think he was pretty proud about it.” As Dubois started to become a big deal in the hockey world, the Dubois started to focus on making sure he stayed humble. The NHL is a dream come true for many. The fame can be intoxicating. The money makes all kinds of vices possible. “I know it was hard for him to stay level-headed,” Eric Dubois said. “It would be hard for any kid his age to stay grounded after going third overall in the NHL draft. Everybody's telling you how good you are, how pretty you are. “It's been a challenge at times, but I think he's been pretty good about it. We are proud. How he handles things, how he's doing so far … we are proud and happy that he's doing pretty good.” Dubois' first challenge in the NHL came the moment he was drafted in 2016. The expectation was that Columbus, with the third overall pick, would take the consensus third-best player available, forward Jesse Puljujarvi. But the Blue Jackets took Dubois, a pick that led to a collective gasp in Buffalo's First Niagara Center. The pick was panned by many at the time, but it's starting to look pretty good. Dubois is gaining confidence and playing a regular shift with the Blue Jackets, and Puljujarvi is stuck in the minors for Edmonton. Still, a big moment for the Dubois family — you're only drafted once — was slightly tarnished by the crowd's response. “As happy as we were, I knew it would come with some challenges, being picked ahead of Puljujarvi,” Eric Dubois said. “He's probably going to be compared to him for the next 10 years, maybe the next 20 years, who knows? “We were happy for a few moments. But after the dust came down, we said, 'Oh, he's going to have some tough critics, some tough challenges if he starts slow.' But I always told him not to compare himself to anybody. Do your thing.” It's part of the sage advice Dubois has at a finger's reach. Not just Tuesday night, but after every game. And only if he wants it. “I'm a very lucky guy,” Dubois said. “My family is really close. We really get along, all support each other, and that helps.” Notebook — The Blue Jackets will likely be without center Alexander Wennberg on Tuesday in Montreal. He did not skate today — one of a few recent practices he's missed — and it was unclear if he was traveling with the club this afternoon. — It looks as if Sonny Milano will be back in the lineup after missing the past two games. Milano, whose ice time has been gutted in recent weeks, was in Wennberg's spot on the second power-play unit today in practice.

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— Milano and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson have struggled for ice time in recent games. Tortorella acknowledged it's a tough spot for both players, and they might have to head to AHL Cleveland to get the ice time. But, for now, they're here. — Tortorella was asked what Milano must do to get back in the lineup, and his answer encompassed both Milano and Carlsson: “Sonny needs to understand that the five-on-five play is very important for him to learn how to play in the National Hockey League. He needs to learn to put on the brakes in the defensive zone. He needs to understand positioning. I’m not crazy about the time he’s missing. Even Carlsson. It really bothers me for these two guys that they’re not getting the ice time, but I have to make these decisions based on what’s best for that particular game. So we’ll show them video and continue to work with them. But it’s really understanding positioning five-on-five. (Milano) wants to learn. He’ll get it. It’s taken some time, but he’ll get it.” — Tortorella was asked if Milano can learn what he needs to learn by playing 5-6 minutes a night or as a healthy scratch: “It’s hard. That’s something we have to think about as an organization, as we go through here. Does he go and get some minutes (in Cleveland) … I don’t want to do that yet. I want him in our meetings. I think it’s important he’s in the meeting. I think it’s important he practices with us. Those two guys … I want them to develop the right way. I don’t want them to miss much time, much game time, when we feel other guys are playing ahead of them right now. I think Markus Nutivaara has taken a huge step, which is exciting to see. So Carlsson has lost some minutes here now. Murr (Ryan Murray) has played well, too.” — A change to the top power-play unit: Boone Jenner was in Nick Foligno's spot — net-front — on the No. 1 power-play unit today in practice. Foligno skated with the second group. — Maybe the frost is starting to lift on Artemi Panarin's game. He had a goal and a shootout goal in Saturday's 2-1 win in Detroit. Here's Tortorella: “It's different for Bread. You have that guy in Chicago (Patrick Kane) who had the puck half the game, didn't even want to pass. Bread probably wanted the puck more there, but (Kane) didn't want to pass it to him. It's different for him here. He has the puck a little bit more. It's been a little bit of an adjustment, but I see Bread's game coming. He's all over … I think we had 15 scoring chances (on Saturday), and he was involved in six of them. He's all over the score sheet. It's just finding a compliment. We'll keep working on it.” — Here's a snippet of a conversation from today with Foligno: AP: “You want the tough question or the fun question first?” NF: “Up to you. I'm ready for anything.” AP: “I was shocked when looking at shootout stats yesterday … ” NF: “0 for 11! I'm awesome!” AP: “You're due!” NF: “I told Torts on Saturday, 'I want to go.' He says, 'No, not a chance.' I said, 'C'mon.' He looked down the bench and he said, 'All right, you're up next.' ” AP: “You talked your way in.” NF: “You know what's funny is, I don't know why I am. I don't know what it is. You could probably pull it up, but early on I hit a few posts, the crossbar. I remember one here, I laughed so hard. I don't remember what year it was, but the year they took out the spin-o-rama moves. I was going down against Pittsburgh and I lost the puck — I did a spin-o-rama — and (Marc-Andre) Fleury looked at me, he was like, 'What are you doing?' I was like, 'Oh, man, I'm a mess.' It was a last-ditch effort. After that, it

37 just becomes … it's a really weird thing, where you get confidence early on it and you just go. If I could get one, I'm going to start rolling. But I have not found a way to get one.” AP: “You're pretty good on breakaways, though, right?” NF: “Why don't I just pretend somebody's chasing me? You're better off if you have two moves you can go to. Just two. If your first one isn't there, it's your next one. Everyone I've seen or talked to about it, that seems to be the way of the shootout. I go down, I've got 400 moves I'm looking at. 'He's open here. He's open there.' And by the time I get to the net … yeah.”

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/11/09/tony-granato-team-usa-hockey-nhl- deutschland-cup/849384001/

Team USA Olympic coach Tony Granato: We have players 'who could play in the NHL' By Kevin Allen – November 9, 2017

The United States can’t use NHL players on its 2018 Olympic team in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February. But the Americans will have NHL talent. Coach Tony Granato is sure of that fact after putting Olympic candidates through practices this week in preparation for this weekend’s Deutschland Cup in Augsburg, Germany. “There are definitely players here who could play in the NHL,” Granato told USA TODAY Sports via cell phone from Germany. The American squad, which opens the Deutschland Cup against Slovakia at 10 a.m. ET on Friday, is captained by forward Brian Gionta, 38, who played last season for the Buffalo Sabres. Former NHL forward Ryan Malone, a six-time 20-goal scorer, is also on the roster. The Deutschland Cup is a four-team tournament that also includes Slovakia, Russia and Germany. Former NHL player Matt Gilroy, currently one of the Kontinental Hockey League’s top puck-moving defensemen, projects to be the USA’s best blueliner at the Olympics. Mark Stuart, who played for the Winnipeg Jets last season, is also in the mix. “When you hear the NHL guys aren’t coming, you think, ‘Who the heck is going to play?'” Granato said. “But when you see the talent pool, you go, ‘Wow, there are still some exciting players with great international experience.'” Former Yale standout Brian O’Neill, 29, is on the roster, and he currently has 22 points in 27 games for Jokerit in the KHL. Ex-NHLer Mark Arcobello, who has 20 points in 19 games in the Swiss League, also figures to be a factor. “The spirit here is one of excitement and energy – they are all thrilled to be here,” said Granato, a former NHL player and coach who currently heads the men’s program at the University of Wisconsin. The top goaltending candidate is Ryan Zapolski, a former Mercyhurst College athlete who is in his fifth season in Europe. Not every player on the Deutschland Cup team will make the U.S. Olympic roster, and some players not on this roster will make the Olympic squad. A handful of college players are expected to be named. But what we see at the Deutschland Cup is mostly what we will see in Pyeongchang. The Russians are seen as one of the favorites in these Olympics, one that will be played without NHL players for the first time since 1994. “Obviously the evaluation is the most important part of this,” Granato said.

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http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/quick-shifts-power-embarrassing-coach/

Quick Shifts: The power of ’embarrassing’ your coach By Luke Fox – November 10, 2017

A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. 1. Bruce Boudreau sounded off post-game on his Minnesota Wild players this week after a poor loss to an injury-depleted Boston Bruins club left them stuck in the basement of the Central Division. A number of Wild players agreed their coach’s use of the word embarrassing was justified. “It’s a coach’s sense of frustration getting out, and rightfully so,” Marcus Foligno said. “It was embarrassing. It was a tough loss. We didn’t have emotion in the first and second. It was embarrassing because we’re playing a Boston team that’s badly injured and they had a lot of American Hockey League players in there, yet we got beat by them.” Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Connor Carrick was eloquent on the power of embarrassing. We spoke at length on the motivational tools at a coach’s disposal when things aren’t going well: how he runs practice, how he speaks to a player one-on-one, how he refers to them to the cameras. “It’s one of the heavier words you can use,” Carrick said. “If you’re going to use that word, embarrassing, it’s a huge shot. It’s a shot at the way you go about your work. It’s no secret NHL athletes are well paid and we’re at the high end of what we do. That’s why we’re all here. Consistency, effort and execution level night in and night out is the name of the game. Fans pay a lot of money to watch you play, and you’re always thinking about that kid, when you were young, and how much you would give to be out there. You have to remember that. You have to channel that as a player.” “[The Wild] are a good team, so the expectation level is probably high. Bruce Boudreau has been around a long time. I’m sure he doesn’t use a word like embarrassing lightly.” Carrick said he purposely avoids watching Mike Babcock’s scrums. “I don’t think in Toronto it’s a good thing [to watch]. There’s more media involved than with other clubs. Babs is good. If there is something wrong, he’ll come talk to you anyway. I don’t think there’s a need for it. I’m sure there are coaches who use [media criticism] as a tool to harness the focus of their players,” Carrick said. “I don’t watch. We have enough meetings in here. I’m not going home to have another one.” For the most part, Babcock has avoided ripping core members of the young Leafs via the media. His shielding of Morgan Rielly last season, in particular, sticks out. “I’m sure that’s his MO, and I think it filters down to the team. Those conversations come from the top. He’s going to direct. Even me personally, I don’t get many questions [from reporters] about other individuals. I don’t think it’s healthy. I wouldn’t answer a question about a teammate unless it’s positive anyway. I’ve had questions about other players that made me uncomfortable. I think it’s unprofessional to ask or answer those,” Carrick said.

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“When the game’s not going for you, do you need one more thing to play against? Public shame, I know coaches have used it. Maybe they think a guy would be motivated by that. It’s an individual, case-by- case basis.” I asked Carrick if a coach ever used the word embarrassing to his face, behind closed doors. “Yeah, we’ve had discussions about guys. Fans are paying X amount of money for a ticket, and that’s the effort we give? We all respond to that. Most of us come from blue-collar-type homes. “If Babs comes and talks to you like, ‘You’ve been playing poorly,’ and it goes down the road of embarrassing, chances are I felt that already. I might’ve talked to my dad, and he wasn’t happy. I’ve even gotten texts from my younger brother saying, ‘Hey, I thought you coulda done more.’ They’re watching. They know my tendencies and when I’m playing well or not. When those words come out, it’s not a shock. Usually there’s an agreement that this is rock bottom. Enough’s enough.” And usually those talks result in a positive response? “Usually.”

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http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players-one-day-contend-nhl-games-played-title/

Which players could one day contend for NHL games played title? By Mike Johnston – November 10, 2017

Earlier this week Jaromir Jagr passed a legend on the NHL’s all-time games played list. Jagr leapfrogged Gordie Howe to move into second place in total games played (regular season plus playoffs) behind only Mark Messier. Jagr likely won’t pass Messier unless he returns for the 2018-19 campaign, or if the Flames go on a deep playoff run and Jagr barely misses another game but it got us thinking: what other active players are candidates to potentially one day move into the top five or even top three in the total games played category? To make a legitimate push to join this elite company you have to be durable, reliable and talented enough to stay in the league well into your late 30s or in most cases early-to-mid 40s. Here are some top contenders for the total games played crown… Patrick Marleau Total NHL games: 1,687 (1,510 regular season, 177 playoff) There’s plenty to be impressed with when it comes to Marleau’s career but the fact he’s never missed more than eight games in any of his 19 NHL seasons is right up there among his most admirable accomplishments. He hasn’t missed a regular-season game since the 2008-09 campaign. Through his 19 full seasons he averaged approximately 78.6 regular-season games (keep in mind this includes the lockout-shortened, 48-game 2012-13 season which skews the average slightly) and 9.3 playoff contests per year for roughly 87.9 total games per season since breaking into the league in 1997. He has suited up for all 17 Maple Leafs games so far this season and the 38-year-old signed with Toronto with the hopes that this young team would be an annual playoff team going forward. So, for the sake of argument, let’s say he averages 78 regular-season games and nine playoff games per year through the 2019-20 season. Maple Leafs fans sure hope their team averages more than nine playoff games over the next three years, but that’s contingent on 1) making the playoffs and 2) making it out of the first round. If he does that and maintains his career average he’d be at 1,931 total games by the time his current contract expires, which would put him ahead of Ron Francis, Chris Chelios, Howe and the number Jagr recently hit. He’d be in third place, assuming Jagr plays at least six games from now until the end of the season. Considering how well he still skates at age 38 coupled with his proven track record of durability, Marleau has a legitimate shot to break into the top five. Also, if his current contract isn’t his last contract and he plays beyond age 41 he could feasibly pass Messier and even become the first player to hit the 2,000- game milestone. Drew Doughty Total NHL games: 785 (704 regular season, 81 playoff)

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Doughty currently sits in 100th place in regular-season games played among active NHLers and at age 27 he’s the youngest player on the list, plus the two-time Stanley Cup champ already has 81 post-season games on his resume. An average season for Doughty lasts 87.1 games (76.4 regular season and nine playoff), which is similar to Marleau. At that rate Doughty would be at approximately 1,640 games 10 years from now and reach 1,900 total games by age 40. Doughty has a lot of miles on him, usually among the league leaders in average and total ice time, so time will tell whether or not his body holds up and whether or not he even wants to play that long. Patrick Kane Total NHL games: 883 (756 regular season, 127 playoff) Kane hasn’t even turned 29 yet but he already seems like a lock for the Hall of Fame. He has averaged 74 regular-season games per year and happens to play for a perennial Stanley Cup contender, so you can add another 12.7 playoff games per year, which puts him close to 87 total games per year. As you can see above with Marleau and Doughty, when a player averages around 87 games per year they have the potential to close in on the top five if they play into their early forties. And based on his production rate of slightly better than a point per game, if Kane were to play for that long he’d also likely be among the all-time leaders in points as well. Other stars with similar averages and projections to Kane’s include Alex Ovechkin (1,034 total games, 86.1 games per year, age 32), Anze Kopitar (931 total games, 84.6 games per year, age 30) and Nicklas Backstrom (845 total games, 84.5 games per year, age 29). Eric Staal Total NHL games: 1,079 (1,026 regular season, 53 playoff) The centre joined the Silver Stick Club last season and only turned 33 a couple weeks ago. Staal has missed more than five games in a season just once and that was during the 2009-10 season in which he still played 70 games. He has yet to sit out a game this year and is under contract with the Minnesota Wild until the conclusion of 2018-19. It would seem unlikely a quality player like Staal would hang up his skates and retire at age 34 though. He averages 77.7 regular-season games per year but outside of a Stanley Cup run in 2006 and an Eastern Conference final appearance in 2009, Staal usually isn’t playing NHL hockey beyond April. He has played five playoff games in each of the past two seasons so hypothetically if he averages five playoff appearances per year and maintains his regular-season average he’d surpass the 1,600-game mark by 40. For comparison, that would put him in the ballpark of where Joe Thornton (1,620 total games at age 38) currently stands but ahead of the likes of Zdeno Chara (1,511 total games at age 40) and Matt Cullen (1,504 total games at age 41). Thornton, Chara and Cullen sit in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively, behind Jagr and Marleau among active players—Marian Hossa has played 1,514 total games in his career but despite being under contract through 2021 is stuck on long-term injured reserve. It’s possible, likely even, that Hossa has already played his final game. Staal’s number would greatly increase, however, if the Wild and/or any team Staal signs with in 2019 goes on some lengthy playoff runs and/or he’s able to play well into his forties. Andrew Cogliano Total NHL games: 862 (802 regular season, 60 playoff)

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Cogliano literally never misses a game so it earns him a spot here. The NHL’s ironman can also get you 30-40 points per season, so as long as he remains a bona fide NHL-calibre player he’ll continue to climb the ranks. Cogliano didn’t make the playoffs until his sixth NHL season, which hurts his totals but he still averages 84.6 total games per year. The pending unrestricted free agent turned 30 in June. Hypothetically, if he continued to be an every- game player, he could hit 1,600 regular season games before he turns 39. That’s something even Marleau won’t do. When you add in all the potential playoff games he’ll suit up for he’s another candidate to join that illustrious group.

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http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jarome-iginla-isnt-ready-retire-nhl-yet/

Jarome Iginla isn’t ready to retire from NHL yet By Emily Sadler – November 11, 2017

We’re almost a quarter of the way through the 2017-18, and Jarome Iginla is still without a team. According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the veteran winger isn’t ready to call it quits just yet. “Jarome Iginla wants to resume his NHL career—and not necessarily the one that he also has at the international level,” Kypreos said during Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “He had some minor surgery that was described to me as maintenance, but he wants to get ready to play.” Iginla has 20 seasons worth of experience, 16 of which were spent with the Calgary Flames. He also had short stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings. The 40-year-old registered 625 goals and 675 assists for 1,300 points in 1,554 career NHL regular season games. “We all know that the NHL teams out there use the American Thanksgiving as a bit of a gauge to reassess their team,” Kypreos said. “He’s hoping at that point that there will be enough interest where at least he can find a team that perhaps he might even skate with and be in a situation, much like others have, with a PTO—player tryout—and wait for his opportunity to sign.” Because he’s still without an NHL deal, Iginla is eligible to suit up for Team Canada at the upcoming 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The winger has represented Canada three times on the Olympic stage, winning gold twice (2002, 2010). But Kyproes said the Olympic rings are not his priority this time around. “The Olympics? They’re there, but it’s not his focus right now,” Kypreos said. “He’s expected to have a conversation with general manager of Team Canada, Sean Burke, but that probably won’t come much later until at least he’s explored all his options in the National Hockey League.”

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/11/11/matt-gilroy-olympics-team-usa-nhl- jenny-taft-hockey/855310001/

Matt Gilroy, thriving in the KHL, now expected to become go-to player for U.S. Olympic team By Kevin Allen – November 11, 2017

The first couple of times Fox Sports reporter Jenny Taft explained to bosses that she needed time off to travel to Moscow to see her husband play hockey she remembers they gave her “funny looks.” “One of the guys I work with thought I married a Russian guy,” Taft told USA TODAY Sports. “There was confusion about it.” But Taft’s husband, Matt Gilroy, was born in Long Island and became a star defenseman at Boston University, where he won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player. Now he is a leading candidate to play for the U.S. Olympic team in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The complication of the Gilroy-Taft marriage is that Gilroy, 33, is a top player in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League. He’s played the past three seasons in Moscow, and today plays for the KHL franchise Jokerit in Helsinki, Finland. When Gilroy first joined the KHL in 2014-15, he believed it would be a temporary stay until he could land another NHL opportunity. He had played 225 NHL games with four different teams, but he spent much of 2013-14 season in the American Hockey League. What Gilroy didn’t expect is that he would enjoy his international experience on and off the ice. “It turned out to be a blessing,” Gilroy said. “What I’ve gained in life experiences …meeting different people, learning about different cultures, languages ... to say that is my life is pretty cool.” His playing style also turned out to be better suited for the international ice surface, which is 15 feet wider than the NHL's. “I found a niche,” said Gilroy, who has 103 points in four KHL seasons. “It’s a more offensive game. It’s more of a skating game. There is more time with the puck. Little more time for creativity, which helps my game. The skating aspect, a lot more room to work with, does help me.” As one of the KHL’s top offensive defensemen, Gilroy looked like a favorite to make the Olympic roster as soon as it was announced NHL players wouldn’t be going. Gilroy played with the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, and now will be participating in the Deutschland Cup in Germany this weekend. Tony Granato, the USA’s Olympic coach, is also coaching that team. “I’ve always admired him for his skill and what he has,” Granato said. “He’s a guy who could be a leader at the back end. He can juggle a lot of minutes in a lot of situations. He’s a good all-around player.” Gilroy considered trying to come back to the NHL on a two-way contract this season, but the opportunity to play in the Olympics weighed in his decision to stay in the KHL, where players earn wages commensurate with NHL salaries. Taft and Gilroy were married in 2015, but they started dating when they were both freshmen at Boston University. Taft was a lacrosse player. They view their situation more as an adventure than a hardship.

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“I give him credit for being overseas and going it alone,” Taft said. “I have it easier. I’m around my family and friends.” Despite her busy schedule, including serving as a sideline reporter in major college football games, she travels to Europe whenever she can. She guesses she has seen about 30 KHL games since he went over. “It is difficult, but we make it work,” Gilroy said via phone from Germany. “It’s great to be able to explore the world with your wife and see different people and cultures. We try things you don’t usually get a chance to do.” Taft points out they had a long-distance relationship even when he was in the NHL. Because of her job, she lived in Los Angeles when he was with the Lightning and Panthers. “A six-hour flight from L.A. to Florida is long too,” she said, laughing. They just accept this is their life. The day after they were married, Taft left to cover a soccer tournament and Gilroy returned to Moscow for training camp a month later. “We haven’t had a honeymoon yet,” Taft said, laughing. “I keep reminding him that will happen one day.” Gilroy said one of the best aspects of their relationship is the support they have for each other’s careers. “It is cool because she gets to do what she loves,” Gilbert said. “She’s good at it. It’s fun to see how excited she gets on game day as she prepares. It’s fun that talk about sports. It’s a big part of our family life.” Taft is the daughter of John Taft, a defenseman for the U.S. Olympic team in 1976. He also played briefly for the Detroit Red Wings. After Taft left the NHL, he played four seasons in the minors. Gilroy didn’t have to explain to him why he went to the KHL. “I always tell people when you have a chance to keep playing you keep playing, because it’s a great sport,” John Taft said. Jenny Taft remembers Gilroy talking about playing abroad even when he was in college. Even then, he appreciated the romance of that life. “He really enjoys this,” Taft said. “It’s so cool that he plays a group of guys who don’t speak the same language. But hockey is a game they all understand. I think that is so fascinating. Hopefully, he will have so many stories to tell our kids someday."

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http://www.tsn.ca/tsn-hockey-s-top-10-storylines-of-the-week-1.912137

TSN Hockey's Top 10 Storylines of the Week By Scott Cullen – November 13, 2017

The big trade, Tampa Bay’s run of dominance, a Crosby slump, a Rangers resurrection, scoring rookies and more in TSN Hockey’s Top 10 Storylines of the Week. THREE-WAY TRADE A week ago, the story was that a big three-way trade was being discussed between the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators, but it fell through and didn’t look like it was going to happen. And then it did. The Ottawa Senators got Matt Duchene, the Nashville Predators got Kyle Turris, and the Colorado Avalanche got six assets in return. I broke down the trade here, and Frank Seravalli covered the behind-the-scenes process to the deal getting done. Big trades are fun. It would be nice to see a few more. LIGHTNING It’s feeling like the Tampa Bay Lightning are the big story on a daily basis, at least when they are playing, because they are winning and putting up impressive goal totals in the process. The Lightning, the top team in my analytically-based Snapshot rankings, may have the top line in the league, or maybe not, but they have one regulation loss in the past 15 games and have started their California road trip by beating San Jose and Los Angeles, 5-1 and 5-2, respectively. The good news for Tampa Bay is that, while they do have an unreasonably high (10.5%) shooting percentage at 5-on-5, the rest of their underlying numbers are pretty solid, so maybe they aren’t going to win every game forever, but there is a lot of reason to believe that their depth of talent and strong goaltending will give them a chance to be a Stanley Cup contender this season. CROSBY SLUMP Sidney Crosby is *gasp* struggling. Maybe this isn’t a huge story, because it’s not getting a ton of coverage as near as I can tell, but Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby is mired in a pretty bad slump, with no goals and three assists in his past nine games. He’s playing 20:45 per game in that span, and during 5-on-5 play, No. 87 has a 48% Corsi and has been on the ice for two goals for and nine against. This may ultimately be a tiny blip on the radar, and Crosby can go back to putting up big point totals, but he’s getting burned both ways right now, with a below-average Corsi and an absurdly low 3.7% on-ice shooting percentage. The good news is that the percentages are bound to get better. RANGERS

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It wasn’t so long ago that the story about the New York Rangers was about how head coach Alain Vigneault was on the hot seat and the Blueshirts couldn’t get out of their own way. After five straight wins, the narrative has changed a bit. They aren’t out of the woods yet, and could still use better defence and goaltending, but the Rangers are competitive again, thanks in no small part to the emergence of second-year winger Pavel Buchnevich, who has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) in the past eight games. KHL OLYMPIC THREAT The latest difficulty as it pertains to the 2018 Olympic Men’s Hockey Tournament is that the KHL is threatening to boycott the event because of issues with the IOC and doping investigations of Russian athletes. It’s bad enough that the NHL players won’t be in the tournament, but if KHL players aren’t going to be involved, either, it’s going to further deplete what was previously a marquee event at the Winter Olympics. It will be interesting to see how this proceeds, though, because it’s not just the Russian team that will be affected; there are plenty of Canadian and American players in the KHL that would qualify for Olympic consideration this year, too. BLUES The Blues, quietly winning night after night. While the Lightning are the flash-and-dash exciting team at the top of the standings, the St. Louis Blues are just one point behind, having accrued 27 points in 17 games, going 13-3-1. Since losing 2-1 at Tampa Bay on October 14, the Blues have suffered one regulation loss in 11 games. Vladimir Tarasenko is great, as expected, but he is second in team scoring to Jaden Schwartz, who has 21 points in 17 games. Newcomer Brayden Schenn has 19 points and No. 1 defenceman Alex Pietrangelo has seven goals and 16 points. St. Louis’ goaltending has been exceptional, but they also have strong possession numbers (53.7% score- adjusted Corsi) that indicate they should be getting the better side of results more often than not. Like Tampa Bay, surely there will be some regression, but the early signs are very promising for the Blues. PANTHERS After touching on three teams that have been moving the right way, it’s probably fair to check in on a club that is not doing so hot lately, and that’s the Florida Panthers, who are winless in five, have won two of the past 11 games, and have five of their next six games on the road. The Panthers, with Dale Tallon back at the helm, have made a committed effort this season to undo anything that happened last season when they had a brief dalliance with using analytics. That meant sending Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith to Vegas in the expansion draft, so that they could keep the likes of defenceman Alex Petrovic who, oddly enough, has been a healthy scratch recently. It’s not like the Panthers don’t have talent. Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck are all very good players and getting Evgeni Dadonov to come over from Russia was a nice boost, but they’re a poor possession steam (47.8% score-adjusted Corsi) that hasn’t been getting good goaltending.

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The Panthers aren’t out of it yet, but with five of the next six on the road, the decision to start playing for next season could come much sooner than expected. ROOKIES Coming into the season, it didn’t look like there were necessarily any high-end rookie forwards. Early returns suggest that forecast might have missed the mark. Arizona’s Clayton Keller has been the standout, with 11 goals and 17 points in 18 games, but there are a couple of others making a charge into the spotlight. Canucks rookie winger Brock Boeser has five goals and 14 points in 13 games, and is skating on Vancouver’s top line with Sven Baertschi and Bo Horvat. Islanders rookie centre Mathew Barzal had a five-assist performance against Colorado this week and is currently on a six-game point streak. He has 14 points in 15 games. He seems to playing with a lot of confidence at the moment. Luck has not been on the side of the Anaheim Ducks all season, most notably because they can’t get healthy. Their long list of injuries was punctuated with an exclamation point this week when it was announced that star centre Ryan Getzalf would miss the next two months due to a facial fracture. The Ducks have managed to tread water, going 7-6-3 through an injury-plagued first 16 games, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they found it tougher to handle Getzlaf’s absence over the next couple of months. After playing just three games in the NHL, the Russian centre made his NHL retirement official. It was a completely bizarre situation. On one hand, Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee suggested that Shipachyov wasn’t good enough to play in the league, which is certainly possible but, after three games, who knows? McPhee was named GM in July 2016. He had a whole year to watch Shipachyov and he decided he was good enough to be one of the 100 highest paid forwards in the league. But after 3 NHL games he's decided Shipachyov's actually an AHLer? It feels like there should be more to the story, but it’s really strange that Shipachyov’s NHL experiment is done so quickly, when he could have gone to another team, or at least not surrendered all NHL opportunities until age 35 (his contract was going to run until he was 32). McPhee had a trade in place which would have sent Shipachyov to another NHL team. He elected not to report.

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