DeBrusk Continuing to Thrive on Bruins' Top Line

WASHINGTON - Before this season began, Jake DeBrusk said he was trying to forget the past - both good and bad. Whether it was his career-high, 27-goal campaign in 2018-19 or his career-low, five-goal output last season, the winger was only focused on the future.
And while the 2021-22 season had its ups and downs over the first few months, it appears that mentality is beginning to pay off.

DeBrusk's goal on Friday night in Tampa gave him seven in his last seven games and 22 for the season, the second-highest total of his career. The 25-year-old also has 10 points across those seven games, including four multi-point outings.
"I don't really remember what it was like back then," DeBrusk said of his career year in 2018-19. "I think it's one of those things, it's just more the growth of the game. Things are going really well right now. But just in general, just an appreciation of when it is going in and being hungry for more. You don't want it stop. You want it to keep going, and you've got to work for it."
DeBrusk has certainly garnered an appreciation for that type of approach playing alongside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron for the past six weeks. Since teaming up with Boston's dynamic duo for the B's road trip opener in Seattle on Feb. 24, DeBrusk has 13 goals in 21 games, which leads the Bruins during that span.
"They make it look so easy when you're watching," said DeBrusk. "It's one of those things where you just try to do your best, you try to make it simple. When pucks aren't going in the net - there was a little bit of a stretch when they weren't…kind of happy that I've gone through these things where you don't necessarily panic. It's just matter of making sure they get their goals."

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has noticed a significant difference in DeBrusk's approach, particularly when it comes to those periods of time when the puck is not going into the net. Before this streak of seven goals in seven games, DeBrusk went eight games without a tally, but Cassidy saw a player who was still buying in to the other parts of the game - something that has not always been the case in previous seasons.
"What I like about right now is he got on a bit of a roll, he got off the scoresheet for a while, but I don't think his game fell off like maybe it had in the past where that probably worried him more," said Cassidy. "Credit Bergy and March for pulling him through in those situations probably, too, saying the right things. He gets out of it quicker. That's what I've liked. He's gotten out of it quicker, kept his habits while it wasn't going in the net.
"[Friday] night, couple of good examples of re-loads where he caught plays from behind after an O-zone shift. Didn't quit on a play - love that. It's second effort away from the puck, something we've talked about, on the puck, away from the puck. Finished a check on [Victor] Hedman, tried to eliminate a guy going the rush. Little things that don't show up on the scoresheet but help you defend better. I thought he did real well last night.
"The offensive part of it has been there. When those other details are there, he's a very dangerous player and a real good player for us, stuff we've encouraged now from Day 1. He's more consistent with it for whatever reason right now and certainly helping us a lot."
DeBrusk, now in his fifth season with the Bruins, believes that the improvement in his all-around game can be attributed, mostly, to the natural maturity that comes along with more time in the league.
"I'm older and kind of went through some ups and downs," said DeBrusk. "I definitely feel it more when things are going well this time around, as before I just blindly thought this was going to happen. It's one of those things where it's nice to feel like you earn it. [Those are] the best goals.
"You want to score every game. It's one of those things where you don't want to let the team down in a tight game or anything like that…as you get older, there's a lot of bigger things in life than maybe not scoring for a couple games or five games.
"At the same time, it's something that you try to use strategically in a way to figure out how to get back and score the next try you have, how to generate more. You look at it more that way instead of emotionally."

Riding the Hot Hand

For the second straight game, Linus Ullmark will start between the pipes when the Bruins visit the Capitals on Sunday afternoon. The netminder has won six straight starts, leading Cassidy to ride the hot hand.
"He's played well. Like [Jeremy Swayman] earlier when he got on a bit of a roll, gave him a few extra starts instead of just rotating. We're gonna do the same thing for Linus," Cassidy explained.
With 11 games remaining in the regular season, Cassidy said the coaching staff will use the time to evaluate both goaltenders and decide which of them will get the net for Game 1 of the postseason.
"This stretch of 11 games is probably more, 'OK, you guys are almost basically neck and neck now. Will one of you sort of separate from the other and say, 'Hey, listen I can handle the workload,'" said Cassidy. "Are we gonna play a guy 10 guys in a row? Of course not. But that's a little bit different than the past [with Tuukka Rask]…that will definitely be different this year."

Still Shorthanded

• The Bruins will, once again, be without David Pastrnak (undisclosed) and Hampus Lindholm (lower-body) on Sunday in Washington. "We were hoping that maybe by the end of the week [they'd be in], but they're not ready," said Cassidy.
• Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Charlie McAvoy all sat out Saturday's practice at Capital One Arena for maintenance days.
• Cassidy said that he'd like to get Josh Brown into the lineup on Sunday but will have to determine which defense combinations make sense with Lindholm still sidelined. "There's the partner thing with him," said Cassidy. "If Lindholm's in, how does it work out? If Lindholm's not in, how do the partners [shake out]? 'Cause he has not skated much with [Derek] Forbort. I don't know if they're gonna complement each other, so we've got to be a little bit careful with how we form the partners when we're doing that."