Bruins expect to get Jake DeBrusk back tonight vs. Blue Jackets
The winger will go through warmups and is expected to make his return to the Bruins lineup after five games off with a lower-body ailment.
Apr 30, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA;Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) during the third period in game two of the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Kim Klement/USA TODAY SportsFinally, after multiple games without half of their top-six forwards and with a defense corps that's been halved in recent weeks, help is on the way for the Bruins with the expected return of winger Jake DeBrusk tonight against the Blue Jackets.
"He should be," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said of DeBrusk possibly returning to the B's lineup on Saturday night. "He's gonna go for warmups. Unless there's some last-minute setback, we're planning on having him in."
Absent from the last five games with a lower-body injury that clearly limited DeBrusk in a practice that saw him by all means limping and laboring all over the ice, the timeline surprised even No. 74 himself, DeBrusk admitted.
"I knew I was coming back quicker than expected anyways, but at the same time I didn't think it would be more than around a week or around this timetable," said DeBrusk, who compared sitting out the last five games to a 'bye week' of sorts.
The Bruins will certainly hope that DeBrusk can immediately regain the scoring touch that saw him pot eight goals and 15 points in 10 games prior to the injury.
"Just trying to start where I left off and go from there," said DeBrusk.
You have to like his chances, too, as DeBrusk will skate on a second line with David Krejci (22 points in his last 20 games) and Charlie Coyle (two points in his last three games).
