Jake DeBrusk isn’t hiding from it. He’s growing frustrated.
After a promising rookie campaign, DeBrusk failed to take the next step in his sophomore season which he entered with awfully high expectations. It’s been more of the same in the early goings of the 2019-20 season for DeBrusk, who was held pointless in the Bruins’ first three games.
The 22-year-old appeared to get himself off the schneid Thursday night in Boston’s road clash with the Colorado Avalanche. DeBrusk delivered in the clutch, breaking a 2-2 tie early in the third period after the B’s watched their two-goal advantage go by the wayside. Unfortunately for the third-year winger, the tally was called back after referees, upon replay review, spotted offsides earlier in the sequence. It was the second disallowed goal of the game for the B’s, who suffered their first loss of the season via 4-2 defeat at Pepsi Center.
DeBrusk nearly was left in disbelief upon his misfortune.
“Any time that you get production finally and it gets taken away from you — twice — it’s just one of those things where, you know, I almost don’t believe it but at the same time that’s how things are going for me,” DeBrusk said, as seen on NESN’s Bruins postgame coverage.
Heightening frustration often can be troublesome for a young player, but DeBrusk isn’t worried about unraveling as he tries to work out of his struggles. That said, the 2015 first-round pick is human, and his emotions following Thursday’s tilt were understandable.
“I scored and had an assist tonight, but they got pulled back. We should’ve won this game 4-2, but honestly, those weren’t goals, I guess.” DeBrusk said. “One was offsides and goaltender interference. They looked at it and called it how it was. I don’t think it’s going to snowball, but it’s definitely pissing me off, for sure.”
DeBrusk’s next chance to right the ship will come Saturday when the Bruins play their home opener against the New Jersey Devils.
Here are some other notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Avalanche game:
— Boston’s season-opening road trip could have been chalked up as a success even before puck dropped in Denver, as the club ripped off three straight wins before falling to the Avs. Head coach Bruce Cassidy, of course, is happy to see his team emerge strong out of the gate, but moral victories weren’t on his mind after the final horn sounded.
“Our game is like everyone else’s. We’re going to keep building on it,” Cassidy said. “Tonight we took another step in terms of our offense. The last two games were much better than the first two. Unfortunately, not quite enough tonight. Maybe an inch here or there and we get those breaks to go our way. It’s nice to start 3-1 on the road in a four-game trip, but you know, Jack (Edwards), we play to win every game around here. Didn’t work out for us, I don’t think anyone’s happy in the locker room, but we’ll get ready for New Jersey next.”
— As previously touched upon, DeBrusk wasn’t the only Bruin to fall victim to a disallowed goal. Karson Kuhlman’s first goal of the season also was nixed after referees nabbed David Krejci for goaltender interference. It was a mixed bag of a night for Boston’s second line, and Krejci knows there’s room for improvement.
“We made a lot of things happen today, which is always nice,” Krejci said. “Good offense and good defense. We did that for some part of the game, but we got to keep it up for 60 minutes. I feel like as a line, we haven’t done that. We have to work on that.”
— Joakim Nordstrom made his season debut after missing the first three games with a foot injury. He logged three shots on goal and registered two hits over 11:05 of ice time.
— The Bruins apparently have a knack for players who still manage to produce in the twilight years of their careers.
Their second goal of the night came courtesy of 42-year-old Zdeno Chara, who’s on the outside looking in at the top of the team’s list of oldest players to score a regular-season goal.
— The line of Brad Marchand, Krejci and David Pastrnak hasn’t seen a ton of action thus far this season, but the trio has made of the most of its time together. Pastrnak potted Boston’s first goal of the game, with the other two earning assists.
