“I definitely have to be better,” Dubois said. “As hockey players, we all want to be out there, we all want to help the team make a difference. I can acknowledge that I can be better. I can be a better player. I haven’t had the start to the season that I wanted.
“Whenever (my) next game is … I have to step up my game. I know it, and I’m ready.”
Dubois appeared to take his stunning lack of playing time — five shifts, 3:55 total ice time — in stride. His last shift ended with 4:36 remaining in the first period, and he sat through multiple power plays and a three-on-three overtime against the Stanley Cup champs.
“It is what it is,” Dubois said. “That wasn’t the first time I got benched by Torts. I wasn’t the first guy that got benched by Torts. Whether it’s Torts or another coach, guys get benched. It’s a thing I’ve got to learn from.
“It’s definitely something you don’t want to repeat, and for it to not repeat itself, you have to be better.”
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“(Dubois) doesn’t get benched for one shift of last night’s game,” Tortorella said. “This has eroded and it kept on eroding in the first five games.”
“This is an all-consuming job with the athletes, the different type of athletes we have right now, a little bit of the prima donna stuff that goes on,” Tortorella said. “Not wanting to wait your turn for situations on the ice, not wanting to wait your turn in the locker room …
“My job, and I think it’s very important, and I take it very seriously, is to monitor attitude, effort. What type of teammate are you? Will you play under a team concept, etc.? I think it’s really important with today’s athlete to watch that daily, and I do.”