Coming out of the NHL All-Star break, following Jim Hiller’s first game and first victory as an NHL Head Coach, a quote from Pierre-Luc Dubois stood out.
He spoke about how the coaching staff, coming out of the break, challenged him.
They challenged him to be a “better player”. They challenged him to be a “difference maker”. Yeah, we want to see the goals and assists, but the majority of that challenge came via the things we don’t normally throw at the top of the stat sheet. Playing with intensity, drawing penalties, bringing physicality.
“All the things that maybe not everybody notices.”
It’s something he’s since doubled down on.
“When they laid it out the way they did, it gave me their plan for how they need me to play and how they want me to play,” Dubois said. “They laid it out straight forward, this is what you need to do, and the choice is mine after that.”
In the six games since, the Kings have posted a record of 5-1-0. In each of those six games, we’ve seen certain things from Dubois that have shown the choice he made.
Neither Dubois nor Hiller wanted to reveal the exact specifics of their conversation together. Nor should we want them to. In the games since, however, those areas that we might not always notice have been quite present in Dubois’ game. Since the Kings returned from the All-Star break, Dubois has drawn seven penalties, trailing only one player in the NHL in that time. In New Jersey directly, he drew three. You don’t draw that many without hard work and intensity.
“He drew three penalties and you don’t draw three penalties unless you’re involved,” Hiller said of Dubois after the win over New Jersey. “We know the size, the skating and he’s a hard guy to handle. He seems to be finding his groove a little bit, he’s made a big difference for us.”
The hits metric is deceptive, especially with the league seemingly changing the metric midseason. Since the Kings returned from the break, however, Dubois also leads the team with 17 hits. That’s an average of 2.83 per/game. Prior to the break, Dubois was averaging 0.96 hits per/game, with 46 from 48 games played. That’s just shy of four hits per/60, which has risen to 10.5 in the six games after. An uptick in physicality has led to a couple of penalties, including two minors on Sunday in Pittsburgh. Penalties have been an issue team-wide, but the added physicality has been welcomed and will continue to be welcomed. If the penalties can be limited alongside with it, he’ll have that desired balance.
Hiller used the term “physically engaged” to describe the Dubois he’s seen since taking over as the team’s head coach. He doubled down with “intensity” after last night’s win over Columbus. When Dubois has brought those things, he finds his legs, has the puck more regularly and has more opportunities to create offensively, stemming from that physical play he brings.
The Kings have also shown trust in Dubois in matching up against high-level opposition. Throughout the first game back, Dubois’ most regular opponent was Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. In Pittsburgh, he played evenly against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Kings have utilized him in high-leverage situations, including on nearly every shift available coming off a successful penalty kill. Dubois isn’t on the PK unit, but Hiller has used him between Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield coming out of penalties. Just another opportunity to be involved in the game and an opportunity to play with some different players.
Whether you want to look at the work he’s put in to draw penalties – those are not by accident – or the physicality, or the trusted defensive play, Dubois has clearly taken to the challenge and begun to meet it. He appreciated how it was laid out for him and he’s taking to the areas that the coaching staff feels are necessary for him to meet them.
“They’ve been clear as day with me,”…
This article was originally published by a lakingsinsider.com . Read the Original article here. .