Jake DeBrusk has bought in — and his impact goes far beyond his current scoring scorcher

For Bruce Cassidy, the choice was clear.

Jake DeBrusk’s game tape on Monday night in Columbus was chock full of standout plays, with his two goals — including a game-winning strike just 1:03 into overtime — standing at the forefront of his tangible contributions.

If you peer a bit further, DeBrusk’s shifts were marked with effective, straight-line play, with the 25-year-old putting the Blue Jackets on their heels at the blue line and snatching up skittering pucks on the forecheck.

The production has been there. The eye test has been sufficiently passed time and time again over this recent stretch.

But Boston’s bench boss was quick to point out another sequence when asked about DeBrusk’s value on this club.

In a perfect situation, DeBrusk would likely be donning a different sweater at this juncture of the season — his standing trade request finally granted and his sought-after fresh start finally underway. 

As such, when the trade deadline finally passed and DeBrusk — new contract in place — ended up staying put, it was only natural for some to fret about the winger’s potential buy-in, and what risk the B’s were courting if a discouraged DeBrusk and his game began to drop off in a top-line role.

His recent scoring salvo has certainly quieted those concerns. But it was DeBrusk’s actions in the second period — in which he stepped into a brewing scrum and escorted the Jackets’ Public Enemy No. 1 in Brad Marchand away from the fracas — that caught the eye of his coach. 

“That goes a long way — more than the goal will,” Cassidy said of DeBrusk. “I mean, trust me, we want the overtime goal. Don’t get me wrong. But in terms of what you’re doing for your team, and the team-building aspect and sticking up for your teammate, guys don’t ignore that.”

“It’s instinctual,” DeBrusk added. “I understood there’s probably going to be some sort of reaction from Marsh and he’s the best player on our team and I’m playing with him. There was a scrum after, I saw him get pushed and we don’t take that here.”

Whether it be the security presented by that new contract, the relief that comes with trade-related concerns being tabled (at least for the remainder of this season) or perhaps just puck luck finally falling his way, DeBrusk has been a force on Boston’s top line since he found out he was sticking with the B's for at least a few more months.

DeBrusk’s offensive contributions in a black-and-gold sweater have been marked by plenty of peaks and valleys over the years. But this current heater (six goals and eight total points over five games) stands as a much-needed breath of fresh air given both its extended run (a career-high five-game goal-scoring streak) and the manner in which he’s leaving his fingerprints all over this 17-3-1 Bruins run.

Yes, DeBrusk has been granted with a couple of gimmies over the last few weeks, such as the Grade-A rebound that he tucked past Nico Daws on Thursday against New Jersey.

But for the first time in a long time, DeBrusk is starting to look like the straight-line menace whose relentless pursuit of pucks and knack for the net raised his stock as a promising youngster back in 2018 and 2019.

He may not have recorded a helper, but DeBrusk’s forechecking effort on Brad Marchand’s second goal against the Devils is the type of play that the B’s will need from him in the coming months — with the forward bashing Ty Smith into the boards and jostling the puck loose just seconds before Marchand found twine. 

“It’s big. That’s playoff hockey right there. Jake has found his game,” Marchand said on Thursday. “There seems to be a weight lifted off his shoulders. I think he’s just happy to be here and kind of have the stress of everything out of the way, at least for right now. And he’s been playing better. That is the type of hockey we’re going to need going forward. You look at the teams around the league that are in playoff position, especially in the East, the teams we’re gonna see, they’re big, they’re heavy, the D are tough and they compete hard. We’re gonna have that every single night moving forward, so it’s something we have to establish every night.”

THAT'S 30 FOR 63. pic.twitter.com/wtHf7HwvWO

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 1, 2022

Even though the continued production generated from both Erik Haula and Charlie Coyle’s lines have captured plenty of headlines, the Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk line can’t be overlooked either — with Boston outscoring opponents, 9-3, and holding an absurd 42-14 edge in high-danger scoring chances during their 159:58 of 5v5 ice time together.

Even the stoutest defenses are going to be stretched thin when it comes to accounting for both the Coyle and Haula lines. But that secondary-scoring conundrum only becomes an issue for an opponent if Boston’s top line is continuing to generate Grade-A looks night in and night out. 

And so far, they’re getting it — with DeBrusk’s two-goal night against the Blue Jackets helping the B’s move into a third-place tie with the Lightning in the Atlantic Division.

The Bruins are hoping that DeBrusk will continue to light the lamp with regularity come the postseason. If he keeps playing this way, the points should continue to pile up. 

But at the very least, the Bruins sure don’t seem concerned about his commitment to the cause in what could be his final months in a B's sweater. 

"I think that's obviously a point of emphasis is to have production, especially with the situations I'm in right now,” DeBrusk said. “And it's nice to bury some opportunities – got kind of lucky ... you need some lucky bounces to kind of go your way. But any time you can help contribute to help the team win and especially around this time of year — it's the playoff push. It's something that gives you confidence.”