May 15

EDM1
VGK0
Final
CAR47-30-5
WSH51-22-9
TNT @11:00 PM UTC

May 16

DAL50-26-6
WPG56-22-4
TNT @1:30 AM UTC

May 17

TOR52-26-4
FLA47-31-4
TNT @12:00 AM UTC
WSH51-22-9
CAR47-30-5
@4:00 AM UTC
WPG56-22-4
DAL50-26-6
@4:00 AM UTC

May 18

FLA47-31-4
TOR52-26-4
TNT @4:00 AM UTC

‘Persistent' Jake DeBrusk snaps 10-game slump with game-winner vs. Tampa

Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Jake DeBrusk was in the midst of 10 games without a single point headed into Tuesday night’s big showdown against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

There was nary an empty net goal or secondary assist in almost the entire month of February and to make matters worse, the top-6 winger was a minus-6 during that stretch of futility as well. So he wasn’t really getting the job done at either end of the ice.

But DeBrusk showed he can still come up big in important spots by stepping up and scoring the game-winning goal in Boston’s 2-1 win over the Lightning at Amalie Arena.

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The score snapped his 10-game slump and energized his game while adopting a third line left wing role alongside Charlie Coyle since the NHL trade deadline brought in both Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase from the Anaheim Ducks.

The goal also improved the Bruins' regular-season record when DeBrusk scores to an incredible 48-5-1. Boston has won 11 straight games — and 15 of the last 16 — when DeBrusk lights the lamp (H/T @bostonsportsinf & #TheStatsCorner).

More importantly, his coach thought he was doing the things the right way, an indicator his overall game is headed to a good place for the foreseeable future.

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“I thought he was good. It was nice to see [him score] when you play the right way and you’re on pucks and chipping behind them, and not getting ridden out of the play easily. He was persistent,” said Bruce Cassidy. “Even that [scoring play] on another night he goes down and doesn’t get up. On some nights we’ve seen Jake get frustrated. He stuck with it and he got rewarded in the end. I thought that line was excellent and [Chris Wagner] did a nice job.

“They were making some plays and stayed out of trouble in their own end. At his age, scoring matters and I’m glad he got it playing the right way.”

It was a bit of a broken play where DeBrusk showed his skating speed by beating Zach Bogosian to the puck, and then displayed some needed tenacity by fighting through Bogosian earning a delayed penalty while attempting to slow down him before the B’s winger ultimately lifted home the breakaway goal.

DeBrusk looked like he had the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders postgame as it was clear the frustration of going scoreless was getting to him.

“When it goes in the net it’s always a nice feeling. I hadn’t seen that in a while, so my play was kind of nice [against Tampa] overall. That’s the way I want to be with speed and effort, and it was nice to contribute in that time of the game against that team,” said DeBrusk. “Hopefully I get hot at the right time. That’s one of the main things. Overall mentally it’s a matter of sticking with it and grinding it out and understanding that these things do happen. It’s just a matter of limiting [the cold stretches] obviously.”

DeBrusk has shown in the past that he can keep his play elevated for long periods of time once he gets it up there after a prolonged slump. The Bruins hope this is one of those times as they could certainly use DeBrusk playing the right way and scoring in bunches from his role as one of the secondary offense guys on the Black and Gold.

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