Jake DeBrusk is one of the Boston Bruins’ most polarizing players in terms of fan perception. You either love him or you want him shipped away.
It’s hard to deny, though, that the seven-year veteran left wing has been mighty valuable in the first two games of the opening-round playoff matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a series that is tied 1-1 after the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 win Monday at TD Garden.
And while he leads the Bruins with four points (two goals, two assists) in the two games, DeBrusk has also been a vital cog in many other aspects of his game — from playmaking; to all-out hustling; to getting back quickly on the defensive end; to being right in the thick of the grinding, highly-physical play in the corners, along the boards, and in front of the net.
In a 5-1 Game 1 win Saturday, DeBrusk scored two power-play goals, including a beautiful snipe, as shown at about the 3:13 mark of the video above. On the other one, he smartly bent down extra low and ended up on one knee while sweeping in a pass from Brad Marchand from behind the net. He was reminiscent of a baseball catcher, using his body to not allow the ball (or puck in this case) to get past.
Notoriously streaky, DeBrusk also had a non-power-play assist in the opener — on defenseman Brandon Carlo’s rocket slap shot. And, in a 3-2 Game 2 loss Monday, the winger had a helper on a power-play goal by Morgan Geekie.
For the past few months, fans and pundits alike have loudly said the Bruins were going to need DeBrusk to perform at a high level in the playoffs. That thinking was summed up nicely in an April 5 TheHockeyNews.com article by Michael DeRose:
“With the playoffs right around the corner, they need No. 74 (DeBrusk) to be playing his best hockey. When he’s hot, he’s a significant part of their top six, and the Bruins are a much tougher team to go up against because of it,” DeRosa wrote.
DeBrusk’s contributions haven’t gone unnoticed by head coach Jim Montgomery.
“It’s nice to see him get rewarded for a lot of the hard work he’s done all year,” the coach said after Game 1.
So, indeed, the energized DeBrusk has definitely pulled through. The question now for him is a familiar one that crops up whenever he breaks a cold streak: Can he stay hot?
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