A foggy Jake DeBrusk really didn’t wanna talk about Nazem Kadri
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Jake DeBrusk, clearly in a fog and anything but his normally upbeat self, probably should have pulled a Nazem Kadri and skipped out on his postgame media availability on Saturday night.
Knocked out of the game on a cross-check to the face from Kadri, DeBrusk struggled to recall the details of the incident, and clearly did not want to talk about involving the Toronto pivot about to suspended for the second straight postseason.
“It’s all kind of a blur, to be honest,” DeBrusk said of the cross-check he received from Kadri. “I think it was, from what I remember, it was… it was high. I felt it in my face. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
As for the hit itself, DeBrusk did his best to avoid making his feelings on Kadri known.
“I think that’s up to the league to decide to be honest,” said DeBrusk. “Yeah, I’ve got no comment on [the cross-check].”
What about Kadri running around throughout the night?
“I’ve got no comment on that,” DeBrusk repeated.Â
Perhaps the most heated one-on-one battle since this series started on Thursday night, Game 2 was a mere carryover from a Game 1 that truly kicked off with Kadri slew-footing DeBrusk behind the net. And Game 2 had tons of action between the two before the cross-check, with the two tangled up for matching minors in the first period.
DeBrusk made it a point to mention that he was not going for any sort of intentional knee-on-knee on Kadri, too.
“I’m not a dirty player; I don’t think I intended to knee-on-knee him,” DeBrusk said. “I was… you know, I’ve got no comment on that. I’ve got to see it, to be honest with you.”
The 22-year-old DeBrusk also admitted to going through a series of tests following his departure from the game (DeBrusk was a late appearance for media availability, confirming exactly that), and that he hoped they were going to come back negative.
His dazed state on Saturday did little to inspire confident on that front.
But Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy termed DeBrusk ‘day-to-day’ during his Sunday media availability at Warrior Ice Arena.
Game 3 is Monday night in Toronto.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has also been a voting member of the Boston Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter @_TyAnderson.
