Dubois relishes chance to contribute

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This article was published 22/05/2021 (1571 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Whether they get the 2020 playoff version, the 2021 regular-season version or something in between remains to be seen. But the Winnipeg Jets were just happy to have Pierre-Luc Dubois back in the fold on Friday night.

“We’re hockey players, we want to play. It’s never easy not being in the lineup, not practising with the team. It’s stuff that happens. I worked with the training staff. I tried to get as ready as possible for when that day would come and finally we’re here and I’m really excited to be back,” Dubois said prior to Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.

Dubois, 22, took a puck to the head in the May 14 finale against the Toronto Maple Leafs, knocking him out of that game along with the start of the best-of-seven first-round series on Wednesday. But after a few days of skating with his teammates, he declared himself 100 per cent.

“I don’t want to go into detail about what happened. But fortunately it wasn’t anything too serious. It’s only been a week or so. So I haven’t been out of the lineup too long, which is good. I hope it’s not going to be too bad to get back into things. But I’m ready to go right now,” said Dubois, who skated on the second line with Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp.

Kristian Vesalainen, who was in that spot for Game 1, came out of the lineup.

Dubois had an up-and-down first season with the Jets, going without a point in the final nine regular-season games and without a goal in his final 17 contests. He finished with eight goals and 12 assists in 41 games with Winnipeg after coming over from Columbus in mid-January as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic the other way.

Perhaps nobody is relishing a clean slate more than Dubois, who emerged as a star last summer when he led the Blue Jackets to an upset of Toronto in the preliminary round. He had four goals and six assists in 10 playoff tilts, including a Game 3 hat trick that included scoring the overtime winner.

“I love a good challenge. I love competing. Every game’s important throughout the regular season, but in playoffs it’s magnified. Everything’s magnified. In my first year, my second year and even last year, there’s just something about this time of year that every shift every battle, every shot, every stick on puck, it’s important and competitiveness come playoff time, it’s sort of kill or be killed out there and makes it even more exciting,” said Dubois.

His return left Nikolaj Ehlers as the only regular still sidelined. The flashy winger is getting closer to a return from a shoulder injury suffered on Apr. 24.

“He looks good. He was out of the gold (non-contact) sweater and wore a normal sweater. He’s been in controlled contact for probably four or five days now, and he’s in full contact now and looking like he wants to play,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said following the morning skate. Game 3 at Bell MTS Place on Sunday night is “a possibility,” he said.

As for Dubois, Maurice believes the best is yet to come from the third-overall pick of the 2016 NHL draft.

“It’s a fresh start. Playoffs is an opportunity to kind of define your year, regardless of how you played in the regular season,” said Maurice.

“He went through such a tumultuous journey to get to the playoffs here for us. I’d like him to keep the game as simple as he can after his little bit of a layoff here. Unfortunately or fortunately, he’s done that a couple of times this year. He’s come in after a few days off. And enjoy it. This is a chance. He’s a big body, he can move, he can control pucks, so this is a good time for him to ply his trade.”

Tavares injury hits home: A serious head injury to Toronto’s John Tavares on Thursday night was a vivid reminder of how dangerous hockey at the highest level can be. And several members of the Jets joined the hockey world in sending well-wishes to the popular Maple Leafs captain.

“Yeah, that was very scary. You don’t like to see it. I pretty much turned away from the TV when it happened. It was ugly. Just a freak accident. This game is so fast, it’s the kind of thing that could happen,” said forward Mathieu Perreault.

“Freak accident. You see the play and any time you see a guy getting stretchered off, you’re hoping for the best, that it’s precautionary and it’s not as serious as it looks. But it’s a scary play. So I’m hoping that Tavares is all right. You never want to see anyone go down like that,” added Jets centre Adam Lowry.

Tavares appeared to be knocked out cold and in serious distress after he absorbed a bodycheck from former Winnipeg defenceman Ben Chiarot, then took the full brunt of a Corey Perry’s knee to the head as the Montreal forward tried to get out of the way.

“It just stops everything, when you see something that dangerous, the hit to the head. You know, there’s a really, really healthy competition and animosity between teams in the playoffs that gets built very, very fast and something like that just ends it,” said Maurice.

“Both of those teams, Canadiens as well, are going through the same set of emotions in a lot of ways, even though it’s an opponent. They just hope he’s fine. It was a terrible thing. Great news today that it looks like things are good, he’s on the right path back. But that kind of stops the game. The perspective of the game changes pretty darn quick.”

Tavares spent the night in hospital but was released on Friday morning and is now recovering at home. He is out indefinitely.

“When I come out to play a game I know this is something that can happen but you gotta leave it behind you. Especially in the playoffs, you have to have a mindset that you have to be fearless. I come to the rink and get on the ice and once I start playing hockey I don’t think about that stuff,” said Perreault.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg