Will Jake DeBrusk Play In Bruins Home Opener Vs. Coyotes?

Jake DeBrusk’s second game of the 2022-23 NHL season will have to wait.

The Bruins forward was injured during Boston’s season-opening win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday and played just 11 minutes, six seconds. Head coach Jim Montgomery didn’t have much of an update after the game other than it was an upper-body injury.

DeBrusk was not on the ice for Friday’s practice at TD Garden and Montgomery offered an update that came with some good news and bad news.

“It’s upper-body. It’s not so much here, it’s in this area over here,” Montgomery told reporters, pointing to his head before his lower arm. “He’s not eligible to play (Saturday), but we think he’s going to be back sooner than we expected when it originally happened, so that’s good news.”

There never was any official timetable for DeBrusk, so we don’t really know when “sooner than we expected” is. But it’s still a positive development for Boston, especially with the Bruins being without Brad Marchand until late November.

Craig Smith will move up to the top line to play with Taylor Hall and Patrice Bergeron while Trent Frederic will take over the left wing spot on the third line.

The Bruins play their home opener Saturday night against the Arizona Coyotes. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. on NESN.