Dubois earning recognition from Blue Jackets in playoffs

WASHINGTON --Pierre-Luc Dubois doesn't mind flying under the radar.
In fact, he's gotten used to it.

For most of the season leading into the 2016 NHL Draft, all the talk was about Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi before the Columbus Blue Jackets surprised many by selecting Dubois with the No. 3 pick. It's been similar this season when the rookie center has barely been mentioned in the Calder Trophy conversation with Mathew Barzal, Clayton Keller, Kyle Connor, Brock Boeser and Charlie McAvoy being among those getting turns in the spotlight.
RELATED: [Complete Capitals vs. Blue Jackets series coverage]
Though Dubois is enjoying centering Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson on the Blue Jackets' top line, and experiencing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, he occasionally wonders what he has to do get a little love outside Columbus.
"Sometimes I think the same thing, but that's fine," Dubois said. "I play hockey because I love playing hockey and I love winning. Here, I'm learning a lot from the guys here. I'm having the time of my life. There's nothing more I can ask for here."
The Blue Jackets are equally thrilled with Dubois, who has helped them take a 2-0 lead against the Washington Capitals in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round with Game 3 in Columbus on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVAS, FS-O, NBCSWA). Through the first two games, Dubois has two assists and is averaging 23:20 of ice time, third among Blue Jackets forwards.

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella has not hesitated to play Dubois against an opponent's top line. That meant going head-to-head with Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby on April 5.
Against the Capitals, Dubois, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound native of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, has mostly been matched against either Nicklas Backstrom or Evgeny Kuznetsov.
"He has a mental toughness for a 19-year-old kid to accept that type of responsibility and want more," Tortorella said. "It's a different guy. You've got to be careful with young kids, but he has showed me tremendous progress and instant mental toughness as I've gotten to know him as the season's gone on."
The Capitals have scored two even-strength goals so far in the series and neither came from their top two lines. The Blue Jackets have scored five goals at 5-on-5, including Panarin's overtime goal in a 4-3 win in Game 1, when Dubois earned an assist.
"There's a little bit of pressure, but I like winning," Dubois said. "I don't like losing, so any game I've got to give everything I have to win. Now it's the playoffs, but I don't change the way I see it. I just want to help my team win. Whether it's playoffs Game 1 or Game 7, I think it's the same thing."
No one, including Dubois, expected him to be playing such an important role so quickly. While Matthews, who was selected with the No. 1 pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016 draft, and Laine, who was chosen No. 2 by the Winnipeg Jets, were going 1-2 in the Calder Trophy voting last season, Dubois split 2016-17 between Cape Breton and Blainville-Boisbriand in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and had 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) in 48 games.
After Dubois made the Blue Jackets in training camp in September, the plan was to ease him into things by playing him at wing on one of their bottom two lines. Partly out of necessity and partly to get Dubois to skate more, Tortorella shifted him to center, the position he played during his last season-and-a-half in junior, against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 2.
From there, Dubois gradually worked his way up from the fourth line to the top line, earning more responsibility and ice time when he demonstrated he was capable of not only playing with top offensive players but also defending against them. Tortorella said he's become "probably one of our best 200-foot players" and often uses him as an example to veterans during video review sessions.

"He seems like a smart player and he seems like he takes pride in defense, too," Backstrom said. "Not all 19-year-olds do that.
Dubois has made an impact offensively, too. His 48 regular-season points (20 goals, 28 assists) ranked second among Blue Jackets forwards behind Paranin's 82 (27 goals, 55 assists).
If Dubois has had any playoff nerves, it hasn't shown in the first two games against the Capitals.
"Character was one of the main reasons why we had him so high and why our scouts loved him," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He has the drive and the character and the competitiveness, and those are the qualities that are coming through now more and more when he's getting more and more confidence and making it known that he can be a good player and a difference maker."
Maybe Dubois will never be able to do enough to emerge from the shadow of Matthews and Laine in the 2016 draft class, but he's OK with that.
"All my life it's been pretty much like that," he said. "I don't really look to impress other people. I just want to play well. I've never been the guy that everybody talked about, so it never really fazed me. I just play my game. I know what I can do. I know my potential."