Jake DeBrusk played through plenty of pain when he scored two goals for the Bruins in their 2023 Winter Classic win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Boston forward suffered a hand injury plus a lower-body injury that left him in a walking boot after the game and away from the Bruins for four-to-six weeks.
The Bruins and DeBrusk have been quiet about the extent of the injuries he suffered, but the 26-year-old opened up about them Monday afternoon.
“The hand was pretty early on. I knew something was wrong with it, but you don’t know. Adrenaline’s kind of up,” DeBrusk told reporters after practice. “With the leg, it was right before I scored (the first goal). I came to the bench and everyone’s all patting me and stuff. I was like, ‘Yeah I think I did something with my leg.’
“Usually when you block a shot, it’s a stinger. We were just hoping it was that. But it started to deteriorate a little bit. I didn’t say anything after that.”
The leg injury came from friendly fire when DeBrusk ended up blocking a Matt Grzelcyk shot. Shortly after that is when he scored the game-winning goal.
We’re approaching the six-week mark and DeBrusk has rejoined the team for practice. Monday marked the first time he was wearing a regular jersey and not a non-contact one, meaning DeBrusk is getting closer to a return to the lineup.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was hopeful to have DeBrusk back in the lineup over the weekend after they returned from the All-Star break but admitted he jumped the gun, adding everything was fine in DeBrusk’s rehab, they were just waiting on imaging to make them comfortable with having him back.
The good news for the Bruins is that DeBrusk is on pace to return Thursday night when they take on the Predators in Nashville. He’ll be a welcome addition back to that top line, especially since the B’s have struggled with finding an adequate replacement while he recovers.
