BOSTON -- Jake DeBrusk scored 85 times at TD Garden during his seven seasons with the Bruins, including some clutch goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
One goal he will never forget is the one he scored Tuesday night in his return to Boston as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
The Bruins let DeBrusk walk in free agency back in July, and he made them pay in his first game back by scoring a power-play goal in the first period, which ended up being the game-winner in a 2-0 victory for the Canucks.
The Bruins challenged DeBrusk's goal for a potential hand pass, but the review went in the Canucks' favor and the goal was allowed.
“That was probably the weirdest game I’ve played probably since my first-ever game,” DeBrusk told reporters postgame. “That was my mental state, but the guys were great. Kept me in and kept cheering me on and stuff.”
The Bruins outplayed the Canucks for nearly the entire game, especially during 5-on-5 action, and had a 33-15 advantage in shots on net. But the difference was that DeBrusk buried one of his scoring chances and his former teammates didn't.
“You can think about anything you want to think about, but once push comes to shove and you’re on the ice, it’s about getting the two points,” DeBrusk said. “Obviously it means a lot to a guy like me to pull out the win. I thought they played a great game, actually. I think that’s the best I’ve seen them, shooting pucks from everywhere, and we just kind of played a defensive style.”
The Canucks were pretty excited for DeBrusk on the bench as the final seconds came off the clock in the third period:
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 27, 2024
DeBrusk now has six goals and eight assists in 20 games for the Canucks. Goals tend to come in bunches for the 28-year-old forward, and after not scoring once in his first nine games with Vancouver, DeBrusk has six goals in his last 11 games.
The Bruins could definitely use someone of DeBrusk's goal scoring ability right now. The shutout loss to the Canucks was the fourth time the B's have been held without a goal this season in 23 games. They were shut out just twice all of last season. The Bruins are the lowest-scoring team in the league at 2.22 goals per game, and their power play ranks 32nd with a 12.4 percent success rate.
It's fair to wonder if the Bruins' offense would be struggling this much had they kept DeBrusk, who averaged 23.6 goals over his final three seasons in Boston.
