Mired in month-long slump, Jake DeBrusk is holding himself accountable taken at Warrior Ice Arena (Bruins)

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Bruins

Mired in month-long slump, Jake DeBrusk is holding himself accountable

By Conor Ryan

Feb 8, 2019 • 5:07 pm

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Like any young forward learning the ropes up at the NHL level, Jake DeBrusk is not immune to a few cold stretches that come during a grueling 82-game campaign.

As a rookie last season, DeBrusk twice went through a skid in which he was held off the scoresheet for five or more games — the longest drought lasting from Oct. 15 - Oct. 30. Still, the tenacious winger hit his stride on David Krejci’s line — tallying 43 points and setting high expectations for 2018-19 with more reps in a top-six role.

It hasn’t quite gone as according to script, at least in DeBrusk’s mind. While the 22-year-old forward ranks fourth on the B’s in goals with 14 on the year, he hasn’t lit the lamp in a month, with his last tally coming back on Jan. 8 against Minnesota.

It’s a been a season of dry spells and hot streaks for DeBrusk — who only notched two points over his first nine games of the year before reeling off a stretch of seven goals over 10 games in November.

Since returning from a concussion on Dec. 27, however, DeBrusk has seen his offensive numbers plummet to just four goals and seven points over 17 games. In his last 11 outings, those numbers drop to zero goals and just two assists.

While he’s been a regular on Krejci’s line all season long, DeBrusk found himself slotted back down into the bottom six midway through Wednesday's shootout loss to the Rangers, relegated to just 12:06 TOI while with Joakim Nordstrom and Trent Frederic.

DeBrusk will once again find himself down on the third line for Saturday’s matinee against the Kings, skating as part of another reshuffled trio with Sean Kuraly at center and David Backes at right wing.

He may not have the same offensive playmakers that he had the luxury of skating with such as Krejci, but a change in scenery might be what DeBrusk needs to get back on track — especially when paired with a speedy pivot in Kuraly and a north-south player like Backes.



“I think it’s more of a set, you don’t need to worry about different reads, just more so straight-line play. It’ll be interesting,” DeBrusk told BostonSportsJournal.com. “I haven’t really played with a centerman that has Sean’s speed. I think he’s the fastest guy on our team. But I’m looking forward to the opportunity. I think it also gives us some balanced scoring, especially if I start putting it in the net. That hasn’t happened in a while, so some different looks and that’s just how the game works.”

Bruce Cassidy hasn’t ruled out a top-six return for DeBrusk in short order, but echoed his thoughts following Wednesday’s loss — noting that some time out of his usual spot should motivate a player with a lot of pride in No. 74. While the lack of scoring has been a concern as of late, Cassidy also noted that the other areas of DeBrusk’s game — especially his effort on the forecheck on during backchecking situations — have also taken a step back.

(That lapse in backchecking duties was pretty evident on this goal from Kevin Hayes Wednesday night).




“Maybe playing against the third line, third pair, maybe it frees him up a little bit. Sometimes a change of scenery gets your attention in a lot of different ways,” Cassidy said. “That was also the other thing, we want to get his attention. He hasn’t produced offensively like we expect in the last two, three weeks, that happens. But the other parts of his game can’t drop off either. We’ve talked about that. You still got to — forecheck structure, play away from the puck. Different look for him, we’ll see how it plays out.”


Even if the points haven’t been there, a hard-nosed winger like DeBrusk is still generating chances at a solid rate — due in large part to his willingness to bring the puck to the crease or battle down low for rebounds and redirects. Despite missing nine games due to injury this season, DeBrusk still ranks fourth on the Bruins in 5v5 shot attempts at 143 — behind only
David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand
and
Torey Krug.


Still, DeBrusk isn’t looking for any silver linings at this point in the season, especially with him now on pace for just eight assists and 31 total points on the year.


“The reasons why I’m not scoring is not because I’m not getting chances. I still am, but I don’t actually like my actual game,” DeBrusk said. “I think I can do a lot more out there and right now I’m not doing anything. I have a lot of expectations for myself. You look at points or statistics, I only have five assists. It’s after the All-Star break and to be honest, it’s pretty embarrassing. Things like that do creep in your head, but at the same time, you’ve got to understand that it’s one of those years and that’s what’s kind of going. Just try to get out of it as fast as possible.”


He’s had a rough go of it as of late, but DeBrusk knows the law of averages sooner or later have to swing his way given the amount of chances he’s generating.


“It’s different when it’s about five or six (games). Eleven (games without a goal) gets to you a little obviously,” DeBrusk said. “I think it’s not necessarily a loss of confidence, it’s just a matter of what you can control, and right now it’s not going my way at all. The game is not in my favor. I understand that though, it happened to me last year as well.


"It happens to everybody. Everyone goes through stretches, except for the guys that have played for a while. I just have to try to find myself and my game. I think that’s the biggest thing. … We need the points right now, we’re in a big playoff race. I have no doubt once I score my first goal, I’ll be back to normal.”

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