Not: Jake DeBrusk
Like David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk is a Bruins forward who’s off to a bit of a slow start.
Last year, in his second NHL season, DeBrusk had 27 goals. He reached this in only 68 games. Most expect DeBrusk to hit the 30 goal mark this season.
DeBrusk did not find the back of the net in his first two games. He had five total shots on game, but he failed to generate many quality scoring chances.
DeBrusk also could not make much of an impact on Boston’s power plays. He had almost six minutes of power play time, but the results weren’t there.
The slow start for DeBrusk isn’t a major surprise given David Krejci’s injury. Krejci missed the first game, so Par Lindholm centered DeBrusk. Lindholm’s a solid player, but he doesn’t offer a ton of offense.
Krejci was back for the matchup with Arizona, but he still needed to get his legs under him. He played less than 16 minutes and didn’t see a lot of the puck.
DeBrusk is a pure goal scorer who relies on a center like Krejci to feed him the puck in dangerous areas. Once Krejci gets comfortable, look for DeBrusk to turn it on.