Pieces Fall Into Place On Second Line

BOSTON - Jake DeBrusk is just 21 years old. As a teenager, he watched many of the players he is now pitted against each night as the left wing on the Bruins' second line. He also watched some of his teammates.
Among them is his centerman. David Krejci twice led the NHL in postseason scoring during DeBrusk's early teens and now, some five-plus years later, the rookie is riding alongside the veteran pivot.

"It's different when you're on the same ice. I obviously watched him play. He's a pretty impressive player," said DeBrusk, who has been linemates with Krejci since training camp. "The biggest thing I noticed with him - there's not very many players, especially nowadays that slow the game down. It seems like when he has the puck he slows the game down. It's one of those things that he can do and not many players can do. It's a credit to him.
"I've learned a lot from him, he finds me in spots. It's one of those things if you're open he'll hit you pretty much 95 percent of the time. He's a very impressive player. I was impressed when I first skated beside him."

DeBrusk and Krejci have teamed up with Ryan Spooner to form a skilled and dependable second line behind Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak. Their chemistry and cohesion was on full display in the Bruins' 3-1 victory over St. Louis on Thursday night, when the trio combined to provide a relentless attack that resulted in one goal on 11 shots.
They believe they should have had more.
"It's a lot of fun. [Krejci and Spooner] were going. [I was] just trying to help make plays. It was lots of fun watching Krech and Spoons," said DeBrusk, who landed five shots on goal. "I thought we could have gotten some more offense there if we had some more puck luck, but at the same time I liked our game a lot.
"In that second period, it felt like we were in their zone for the majority of it. It's pretty impressive what those guys can do when they're feeling it."
The line has gelled so well together because each member of the triumvirate brings something different to the table: DeBrusk - a combination of speed and grit; Spooner - scoring touch and silky skating; and Krejci - nifty playmaking and an uncanny ability to slow the game down.
"It's lots of fun playing with those guys. JD makes plays, he gets to the net. Spoons has lots of speed and he finds guys," said Krejci. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not even open and I get the puck. Really enjoy playing with those guys."
That feeling is mutual, especially for a first-year player like DeBrusk, who is trying to build up his game with each passing day.
"I've learned a lot, still learning every day. It's been really cool experience for me since the start of training camp," said DeBrusk. "I've been with Krech and now with Spoons, it's been lots of fun. They're both really skilled players and pretty elite. Trying to play their way and try to help them and try to stay on that line."

A Chance for McAvoy

The Bruins did not practice on Friday, but Charlie McAvoy joined Brad Marchand, Paul Postma, Frank Vatrano, and Anton Khudobin for a skate with skating and skills coach Kim Brandvold and goalie coach Bob Essensa. Cassidy said, "there's a chance" the rookie returns to the lineup on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.
"He hasn't been ruled out. Not gonna say he's in either yet, skating today and we'll keep monitoring that," said Cassidy. "But he's obviously getting closer."

Miller Day-to-Day

Kevan Miller left Thursday night's game with an upper-body injury and has been termed day-to-day by Cassidy. With McAvoy close to a return, there are some questions as to what the back end will look like on Saturday night.
"[Miller] did not skate, so that will be something we look at [on Saturday morning]. With Charlie a maybe and Kevan, hopefully one of them is able to play for us," said Cassidy. "If not, Paul [Postma] has been sitting and waiting for his chance.
"We'll have a good D corps tomorrow, I just can't tell you right now who it's going to be."

Opposing View: Toronto

The Bruins and Maple Leafs appear to be on a collision course to meet in the postseason. The two teams have been battling for second place in the Atlantic Division for the last two months, with Boston currently holding a 3-point edge over the Leafs with four games in hand.
Toronto won the season's two previous matchups, taking both ends of a back-to-back in early November by scores of 3-2 (OT) and 4-1. If the season ended today, the division rivals would meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"Toronto is a tough opponent and an opponent we might see eventually," said Patrice Bergeron. "It's different in that way. We're trying to get away from them in the standings and kind of push them down. All of that put together is something we're aware of.
"We don't want to put too much emphasis on that. We've done a good job of staying focused and pushing ourselves to be better every day."
The Maple Leafs, winners of four straight, are fresh off a 4-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night and have registered shutouts in their last two contests.
All-Star Auston Matthews leads Toronto with 40 points (23 goals, 17 assists) in 43 games this season. Fellow young-guns William Nylander (10-28-38) and Mitch Marner (8-27-35) are right behind him. Goalie Frederik Andersen is 25-14-4 with a 2.61 goals against average and a .922 save percentage this season.

Cehlarik Assigned

After being recalled from Providence on an emergency basis on Wednesday, Peter Cehlarik was assigned to the P-Bruins. The 22-year-old played 10 minutes, 20 seconds, while suiting up alongside Riley Nash and David Backes on Thursday night against St. Louis.