DeBrusk, Pastrnak Come Up Big in B's Win Over Jets

BOSTON - As Jake DeBrusk sauntered through the media masses on the way to his stall on Thursday night, his mom stood there waiting to deliver a greeting only a mother could. Clad in her specialized No. 74 jersey and bedazzled baseball cap, Cindy DeBrusk offered up a big hug and a kiss and went on to stand by her son as he addressed the media.
It was a scene repeated throughout Boston's dressing room following the Black & Gold's 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden, marking the perfect ending to a four-day Moms Trip that provided some much-needed motivation, inspiration, and positivity for a team that was sputtering before their mothers arrived on the scene earlier this week.
"We could probably hear them in the stands a little bit on the ice - we heard them pretty much right after the game coming in all screaming so it's a lot of support for sure," said Jake DeBrusk, who potted two goals, including the winner with 8:14 remaining to go along with David Pastrnak's seventh career hat trick.

"I think any time they bring that emotion - the mojo I call it - it definitely helps out the team."

Following up on a stellar all-around victory on Tuesday night in Nashville that snapped their three-game losing skid, the Bruins brought that momentum - and their moms - back to Causeway Street with another strong team effort against the Jets, overcoming three separate one-goal deficits.
"I mean it was a tough stretch, obviously…we always want to win," said DeBrusk, who also added an assist on Pastrnak's third goal. "That's one of those things where it seemed like at the beginning of the year it was kind of coming to us. We wouldn't really play our game or our style, yet we would find ways to win. [During that rough patch], it felt like we were playing the way we wanted to play and we weren't getting rewarded.
"It was kind of one of those things where we believe in each other in here. Obviously, we have a lot of good leaders and just try to stick with the program and understand that it will turn and obviously having the moms around is a great time to start playing well."
After a 2-0 performance with the Mama Bears on hand, the DeBrusks admitted that the Bruins might have to keep the moms around for a bit longer.
"I'd love to stay, I'd love to stay," said Cindy DeBrusk. "It's been an unbelievable few days. The Bruins have treated us so well and it's precious to have time with these guys. He's far away, right? We're a long way from home [in Edmonton] so it's been amazing…there was lots of home cooking. Lots of love, lots of hugs, lots of fun."

DeBrusk Pots A Pair

After a slow start, DeBrusk turned it on over the game's final 40 minutes. The winger notched his first goal of the night with a strong individual effort late in the second period, when he blocked a Winnipeg keep-in attempt along the boards, deflecting the puck into the neutral zone.
DeBrusk turned on the jets and tracked down the loose puck as he cruised in all alone on Winnipeg goalie Laurent Brossoit, before finishing with a top-shelf snipe to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead with 1:11 remaining in the middle frame.
"Jake knows his value to this team," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "It's an offensive role, building his 200-foot game. That's no different than anybody else, but he makes us better when he's winning races to pucks, and that's what he did on those. He squeezed one in, kept one in or blocked a pass down the wall and won a foot race."

DeBrusk went on to make a strong play ahead of Pastrnak's hat trick tally, as he drove the net and flipped one on goal, creating a rebound for David Krejci, who found Pastrnak out front for the tying marker. Just 33 seconds later, DeBrusk picked up his second goal of the night and 13th of the season as he tipped home a Charlie McAvoy point shot with 8:14 to go in the third period to give Boston a 5-4 lead.
"That's when I play my best, when I use my feet and attack the other team's defensemen," said DeBrusk. "Whether it's generating chances…drawing penalties, things like that I can obviously do more. I haven't really liked my start to this year so going into the second half and around the all-star break, I think that I'm trying to keep it consistent and start to find my game."

Pastrnak Rolls Along

Each of Pastrnak's three goals on Thursday night tied the game. The 23-year-old launched wicked one-timers on each of his first two tallies - from the slot following some strong work from Sean Kuraly and Joakim Nordstrom with 2:46 left in the first (1-1) and a power-play marker from the point off a feed from Torey Krug at 9:41 of the second (2-2).
Pastrnak's third goal, a tap-in from the doorstep with 8:47 remaining, tied the game at 3 and gave him 35 goals in 45 games this season.
"Obviously it's been good," said Pastrnak, who has scored the Bruins' first goal in four straight games and now has three hat tricks on the year. "Don't overthink anything, just playing the same way. Focusing on the stuff that I have to think most and just don't bring any pressure on me and just play my game."
Pastrnak also extended his point streak to 12 games with 9 goals and 10 assists in that span. More Pasta stats courtesy of NHL:
- Pastrnak recorded the 32nd instance in NHL history of a player scoring three or more hat tricks in consecutive seasons (also three in 2018-19). Alex Ovechkin is the only other active player to do so (three in 2007-08 and 2008-09; 2017-18 and 2018-19). "I actually heard my mom threw her hat that she got and she wants it back, so I don't know what's going to happen so we'll see," Pastrnak said with a smile. - Pastrnak recorded the eighth instance of a Bruins player scoring his 35th goal of a season in 45 games or fewer and first since Cam Neely in 1993-94 (31 games). - Pastrnak has factored into the Bruins' opening goal of a game for the seventh straight contest. The last NHL player with a longer such run was Antoine Vermette in 2013-14 (nine games with Phoenix). - Pastrnak is the first Bruins player to register multiple point streaks of 12-plus games in a single season since Phil Esposito (15 GP, 13 GP and 13 GP) and Bobby Orr (15 GP and 12 GP) in 1973-74.

Video: WPG@BOS: Pastrnak collects his seventh NHL hat trick

Chara Sits Out

The Bruins were without captain Zdeno Chara on Thursday night as the 42-year-old sat out after having another follow-up procedure on his jaw to treat an abscess. The blue liner missed the game before the Christmas break to have the hardware from the broken jaw he suffered in the Stanley Cup Final removed.
Chara was keen on playing against the Jets but was talked out of it by Cassidy and Bruins general manager Don Sweeney.
"There's a little bit of pain involved there inside," said Cassidy. "He wanted to play, and I've got to tell you, myself and Donny kind of talked him out of it, to be honest with you, because that is going to have to heal properly so he's not going through it all the time. Now, what that timeline is, I don't know. I think it's short-term.
"We decided to shut Zee down tonight. Hopefully he is better for the road trip; that kind of calms down, but I guess we'll get a better read tomorrow. I don't know if he has a follow up appointment, but it's been acting up on him a little bit, and he's playing through a lot of pain right now."