What were you doing at 19 years old?
Not many among us can say they were doing anything truly exciting. That's not the case for Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has grabbed hold of the Blue Jackets' top line center position and put it in a vise.
John Tortorella has heaped endless praise upon Dubois, who began the year as a winger and worked his way up the depth chart. All he did was shatter Blue Jackets rookie scoring records, put up a 20-goal season, and help lead his team to consecutive playoff appearance for the first time in franchise history. Just last week, Tortorella said Dubois' emergence as a difference-maker was a primary reason why they were able to charge into the postseason.
Now Dubois, who was a big-game player in junior hockey, has a chance to earn that same reputation in the NHL. He will get a heavy dosage of the Capitals' top players in this series, but make no mistake – he's on the ice to drive offense, and not many players have done that as consistently as Dubois has.
It's a fresh start in the playoffs and the first game of what the Blue Jackets hope is a long spring, but Dubois said he's approach it like any other game. For now.
"Towards the end of the season, it's almost like playoffs," he said. "Now it's the next step of actually playing in the playoffs. I'm really excited for this."
The Blue Jackets and Capitals play Game 1 on Thursday night at Capital One Arena, and will break until Sunday night for Game 2. The series opener will be the fifth meeting of the season between the two teams, so Dubois is no stranger to how the Capitals like to play.
Does it fit how he likes to play?
"I think anybody who's watched me play this year or who didn't know me...I think they know it's part of my game," Dubois said. "I don't shy away from going in the corners, battling, (playing) 1-on-1 and stuff like that. I'm excited for it."
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