Raise your hand if you saw this coming.
No one? Yeah. Same here.
I admire John Tortorella for his honesty. It's endearing, in a way. He will tell you — more often than not — exactly what’s on his mind and walk you through his decision-making process. When it comes to removing an “A” from the sweater of Brandon Dubinsky, a player who has been a huge part of the Blue Jackets’ resurgence, he was forthcoming and perhaps a little self-reflective, as well.
The situation begins with Dubinsky’s play. It hasn’t been up to Tortorella’s expectations or Dubinsky’s, but there were encouraging signs in the Blue Jackets’ 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Tortorella changed some lines around, put Dubinsky back with Cam Atkinson (Dubinsky said he jokingly told Atkinson “welcome home,” as they’ve been regular line mates over the years) and something clicked.
Whatever it was, the Blue Jackets would like to bottle it.
They need Dubinsky. They need him to play important minutes in key situations and the head coach wouldn’t want anyone else to handle his toughest assignments. But it hasn’t gone well out of the gate, and Tortorella said he sat down with Dubinsky and had a “frank conversation” about the state of his game, because that’s the only way Tortorella and Dubinsky know how to communicate.
It’s a tough spot, isn’t it? Tortorella is removing a commonplace symbol of leadership from Dubinsky’s jersey, but reminding him that he doesn’t need it to lead. It’s easier said than done; hockey players wear those letters with pride and they can say “I don’t need a letter to be a leader” all they want — it’s a prideful thing. Dubinsky, to his credit, said he was miffed at losing the letter and I’d assume that’s partially what Tortorella wanted; lying deep within a difficult decision that’s bound to upset the player, his coach is trying to reach him.
If this didn’t light a fire under Dubinsky, I would be surprised.
CAPTAIN'S CLUTCH
Where might the Blue Jackets be without Nick Foligno, the center?
Holy smokes. He’s been awesome.
Before the season began, it become obvious that the Blue Jackets needed help down the middle and Foligno was the choice to make the move. He’s not a natural center, of course, but he’s building quite the resume in a short period of time. Tortorella has taken notice of the quality play he’s getting from his captain, who is usually doing his work along the boards and digging pucks out; nowadays, you can find him tracking back, patrolling the middle of the ice and making sure the Blue Jackets are covered defensively.
“Is he a better winger or a better center?” Tortorella asked after the game.
“He feels more and more comfortable in that leadership role. He’s been impressive. We’ve had some struggles up the middle, but putting him there has put us in a situation where we’re still scoring goals. He’s just done a great job there in all situations.”
PAGING MR. PRECOURT
We’ll pause the Star Wars talk today in order to talk about the all-galaxy performance from Columbus Crew SC last night.
I mean, my god. What an effort. Zack Steffen, Columbus’ 22-year-old goalkeeper who played every minute of every match this season, was responsible for some of the best goalkeeping I’ve ever seen in MLS. He made four or five ridiculous saves in regulation and extra time, then stopped three penalties (two saves, one post) to send Crew SC through to the Eastern Conference semifinals, which will be in Columbus next week.
Anthony Precourt should have a good seat for this one, if he chooses to show up.
Atlanta United became the darling of MLS in its inaugural season, averaging 45,000 fans per game and making shiny new Mercedes-Benz Stadium one of the premier venues in the game — and we’re not just talking about MLS. Atlanta’s average attendance was higher than several European-based clubs and this was as hostile an environment as a visiting team could ask for. Crew SC was up for it in a big way.
Steffen was ridiculous. The back line of Josh Wiliams and Jonathan Mensah was brilliant in holding Atlanta’s high-powered attack in check. They’re going to get chances, but Columbus’ defense made sure they wouldn’t get beat in the box. It was a terrific display of defending.
See you Tuesday night at MAPFRE Stadium. Stay massive and #SaveTheCrew.
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