#17's #s: 77 games, 24 goals, 30 assists, -3, 100 PIM (5 playoff games, two goals, one assist, -3, 2 PIM).
Take the good: Dubinsky collected career high numbers in goals, assists and points. He made a good transition to the wing, where he was able to use his size and skill to power off the boards along the goal line. After stepping to the side, he combined with Arty and Cally to form one helluva home-grown line that worked very well together from the moment Tortorella's darts hit the roster board until the sad second when Cally went down with injury. His set up to Cally's game winner in the fantastic November 15th game against the Pens was outstanding. Dubi won three of his four fights (although the lone loss was humiliating - Mike Green? Really?). There is something to be said that Dubi's two biggest archenemies in the NHL are Mike Richards and Sidney Crosby.Take the bad: Dubinsky overhandles the puck, gets frustrated at times and disappears too often. Personally, I thought he would grow into an Arnott-esque first line center but he has never taken that leap. While many hoped that he would be the pivot for Gaborik, he never clicked with the Slovakian Slacker the way he did with Jagr. Dubi looks ridiculous with a mustache.
Take them both and then we have: A good second line player. Dubinsky's moments of dominance are few and far between but the chemistry he showed with the other Wolf Pack pups raised his game to another level. At just 25 years old he acts and speaks like a veteran to his teammates and the media. Two years ago he held out thinking he deserved more money and proved he was worth that pay day. But will he be worth another?
1 comment:
That 'stache was amazing. Imagine if we had made it another round. Dare I say it... bushy.
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