DeBrusk’s revival is a major boost for Bruins’ chances of competing originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk celebrated his birthday in front of nearly 18,000 fans at TD Garden on Monday night, and he put on a fantastic show.
DeBrusk scored twice, picked up an assist and tallied five shots on net in 18:14 of ice time as the Bruins rolled to a 5-3 win over a really talented Florida Panthers squad and improved to 3-0-0 to begin the 2022 season. -23 seasons.
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The fact that DeBrusk even played was a little bit surprising. He suffered an upper body injury in the season opener versus the Washington Capitals last week. DeBrusk decided to give it a go, and his head coach, Jim Montgomery, was grateful he did.
“He had no soreness after skating and shooting a lot of pucks this morning, so we got pretty optimistic,” Montgomery said postgame. “The miracle cream works and thank God because he was really good tonight.”
DeBrusk got the scoring started just 21 seconds into Monday’s matchup. The right winger broke up a pass in the defensive zone, stole the puck from a Panthers player and beat Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky with a wrister blocker.
Speed is a major factor of DeBrusk’s skill set, and he put that on full display in the second period when he raced past two Panthers players for a puck and then had the awareness and ability to find the puck. Patrice Bergeron crashing the net with a spinning backhand pass.
DeBrusk’s second goal was scored on an empty net, but it actually wasn’t an easy play at all.
DeBrusk’s turnaround over the last year has been fascinating to watch, and it’s a huge boost to the Bruins’ chances of competing for a title this season and going forward.
He looked lost the first half of the 2021-22 season, a stretch that included his trade request becoming public in late November (which he later rescinded this past offseason). His relationship with former head coach Bruce Cassidy was not great at times. In fairness to Cassidy, the decision he made to put DeBrusk on the first line next to Bergeron Brad Marchand helped revive the 26-year-old winger’s career.
DeBrusk has tallied 28 points (18 goals, 10 assists) in 34 games since he was switched to Bergeron’s line on Feb. 24 of last season, per 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson. No player has scored more goals on the Bruins over that span.
“It’s been different, and obviously it’s with a new coach and just seeing the boys again and kind of just feeling secure after everything last year,” DeBrusk said.
“I think that’s one thing that helped me at the end of last year was that kind of feeling again. It’s just kind of went on throughout the summer and got confidence back in my own game. Just trying to do anything I can to help get wins for this team. With the big guys out and things like that, we need all hands on deck, and I’m just trying to be a part of that.”
Depth has been a major factor in the Bruins’ undefeated start to the campaign. Twelve different players have scored at least one goal through three games. If the Bruins are going to finish near the top of the Eastern Conference standings and make a deep playoff run, players like DeBrusk need to be consistent producers of offense.
Consistency has been among DeBrusk’s biggest issues during his Bruins tenure. He’s fully capable of getting hot over a week or two, but he’ll also have stretches of 10-plus games without a single goal.
But there are reasons to believe this season will be different in that regard. DeBrusk is playing with a level of confidence we haven’t seen in a while, and he’s also playing for a coach who can maximize his talents at both ends of the ice.
“I was shocked at how smart of a player he is and his ability to make plays,” Montgomery said when asked what he’s learned about DeBrusk in his short time as B’s head coach.
“I knew he could score goals. I knew he could skate, but I didn’t know he could make as many plays as he does. I think his all-around game is continuing to develop. He was hard on pucks, he was Hard on coming back to our end, and he’s one of our best penalty killers.”