John Tortorella and Brandon Dubinsky's Reconciliation Lifting Blue Jackets

On Friday the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins by a 2-1 score. It was the 10th game the team played under John Tortorella, and the win moved the team back to .500 under its new head coach, with a respectable 5-5-0 record.

Brandon Dubinsky missed the game with an injury, his first absence since Tortorella took over behind the bench.

Although Dubinsky was out of the lineup for this victory, he’s been a vital figure in the Blue Jackets resurgence under Tortorella. He’s certainly been the team’s most effective centre under the new regime, as a quick glance at scoring totals post-Tortorella confirms:

• Dubinsky: 9 games, 3G-5A-8PTS
• Ryan Johansen: 8 games, 0G-4A-4PTS
• Gregory Campbell: 10 games, 1G-2A-3PTS
• William Karlsson: 10 games, 0G-1A-1PTS

Nick Foligno has also spent some time at centre; he has just three points (all assists) in 10 games under Tortorella. Dubinsky has been the lone capable offensive centre since the coaching change.

It’s surprising in some ways, because no effort has been made to hide the fact that the relationship between Tortorella and Dubinsky has been strained in the past. After Dubinsky was traded to Columbus from New York and Tortorella was fired by the Rangers, the talented centre let his displeasure with his old coach be known.

“I think my relationship with Torts fell apart the last year that I was there,” Dubinsky told Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “I just felt like his relationship with some of the other players could be doing the same thing. So I guess that pretty much sums it up. I wasn’t completely surprised [when he was fired].”

Rich Lam/Getty Images

When Tortorella was hired to coach Columbus, that strained relationship was brought up by the media. In comments to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch¸ both Tortorella and Dubinsky stressed that the antagonism was in the past. Tortorella explained it was a different point in Dubinsky’s career; Dubinsky credited Tortorella with making him a better player and said that relationships have “ups and downs.”

It was the coach who made a point of meeting with the player, though, and it was the coach who stressed how important it was that the two have a successful relationship right out of the gate.

"

I need to lean on him. He is part of that heartbeat of the club there. He needs to be a conduit between the coaching staff and the players until I get to know the other guys also. He’s an important man. We spent a number of years together. I think he can explain some of how I go about it as a coach and kind of make this a smooth transition with the team. And he’s a hell of player, too.

"

So far the marriage is working well. The Blue Jackets are winning hockey games, and Dubinsky is putting up points, particularly on the power play. There are, however, some warning signs.

At even-strength Columbus has been out-chanced 65-47 with Dubinsky on the ice over his nine games under Tortorella; the chance counts were 52-41 in the Blue Jackets’ favour with Dubinsky out there prior to the new coach’s arrival. Scoring has shot up in part because everything Dubinsky shoots has gone into the net; he’s fired the puck just nine times on the opposition goalie and scored on three of those tries. Things tend to look rosy whenever a forward can rock a 33.3 shooting percentage, but nobody can sustain that for very long.

This may be a natural part of the coaching change, that there’s going to be an adjustment as Dubinsky settles into a new system and gets used to working with his old coach once again. For now, the results have been all that anyone could ask for and have been to the benefit of both the player and the team.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

But it’s also a situation worth keeping an eye on, because eventually Dubinsky’s shooting percentage is going to flag, and unless those scoring chance numbers improve, his line is going to start taking it on the chin in the goals department. That’s when we’ll find out exactly how strong the rebuilt relationship between player and coach is.

Statistics courtesy of war-on-ice.com, and NHL.com. 

Jonathan Willis covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for more of his work.