All things being equal, Pierre-Luc Dubois was hardly expected to be the center of attention of the hockey world. And yet that’s exactly the predicament the Blue Jackets forward finds himself in, on the verge of eliminating the star-studded Maple Leafs, on the verge of his own ascension to stardom as well.
Entering a series against Toronto’s quartet of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, Dubois barely featured on the playbill, with most focusing on how the Blue Jackets’ star pairing of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski would counter the Maple Leafs’ high-octane offense. Depending on your vantage point, Dubois has been either the hero, the villain, or if you’re a neutral, a ubiquitous driving force in a series that now comes down to Sunday’s elimination game.