Pierre-Luc Dubois has had a career-reviving season in Washington, and he has the numbers to back it up. With a goal against the Calgary Flames, Dubois tied his 2023-24 point total in just 50 games.
Dubois wasted no time Tuesday night, striking just 1:51 into the game. Helped by a screen from Aliaksei Protas, Dubois intercepted a clearing attempt from Flames defender MacKenzie Weegar before beating goaltender Dustin Wolf with a wrist shot.
With his tally against Calgary, Dubois has 11 goals and 29 assists with the Capitals, matching the 40 points he earned with the LA Kings last season in 32 fewer games.
Dubois’ hot season stands in sharp contrast to his tumultuous tenure in Los Angeles. After joining the Kings in a sign-and-trade deal — inking an eight-year contract worth $8.5 million per season in the process — Dubois failed to find his footing in his lone season with the club. His 16 goals and 24 assists marked his lowest totals in a full, 82-game season as rumors swirled about his effort and attitude. Less than a year after the sign-and-trade, the Kings shipped Dubois off to DC in a one-for-one deal for goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
That rough season took its toll on Dubois.
“Professionally, it was the worst-case scenario,” he told La Presse’s Mathias Brunet, translated by Google Translate. “You want to succeed in your career, you want to please your team, the people around you.”
Now just over half a season into his time in Washington, those problems have all but vanished. Dubois has proved potent both offensively and defensively: his 40 points rank third on the Caps and tie for 59th league-wide, while his talent as a shutdown player has led head coach Spencer Carbery to give him regular deployments against opponents’ stars. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Caps record 53.1 percent of shot attempts, 57.7 percent of expected goals, 57.5 percent of scoring chances, and 58.9 percent of high-danger chances with Dubois on the ice at five-on-five.
And though Dubois rarely found the back of the net himself early in the season, he has six goals in his last 10 games. If he keeps up his current pace, he’ll end the year with a career-high 66 points.
Dubois’ performance against Calgary was far from flawless — he was temporarily benched after taking an unsportsmanlike penalty that allowed the Flames to score a game-tying goal — but the Capitals recovered to earn a 3-1 win. After hitting the 40-point mark, Dubois now has more than 30 games to improve on last year’s point total.
