Pierre-Luc Dubois may have scored the Washington Capitals’ first goal against the Calgary Flames, but that was not enough to keep him out of head coach Spencer Carbery’s doghouse after an unnecessary penalty in the second period.
Dubois, after believing he was held by Flames forward Blake Coleman in the corner, yelled at an official and was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the 12:05 mark of the frame.
The Flames then proceeded to tie the game 1-1 twelve seconds later as Coleman deflected a Tyson Barrie shot past Logan Thompson.
Displeased with Dubois’s lack of discipline, Carbery benched the French-Canadian centerman for the rest of the second period. Dubois returned in the third period and took the opening faceoff.
“(I) didn’t like it at all,” Carbery said postgame. “Whether it’s a penalty or not — which, it’s a penalty — he’s got to do a better job there for us. I know he will. He’s a competitor and a gamer and I appreciate that about him. But in that moment, he has to have his emotions under control and not put us down short, five-on-four. He’ll learn from it. Be better for it. I’m not worried about it.”
Dubois received a total 11:25 of ice time on the evening — by far his lowest TOI of the season. His previous low under Carbery saw him skate 14:14 against the St. Louis Blues on November 9, 2024.
The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was Dubois’s second in a little over a month. He also was whistled for one on December 23 against the Boston Bruins after a disagreement with the Bruins’ Elias Lindholm.
“I’m a passionate person,” Dubois said Tuesday night. “I wasn’t too happy with what happened right before, but that’s on me. I can’t be doing that. It won’t happen again.”
The discipline marks the first time that Carbery has benched Dubois, who was rumored to be a malcontent during past stops in Columbus, Winnipeg, and Los Angeles.
