OK, it’s time to come clean. You can admit it. This is a safe space and we’ve all done it.

And if we’re comfortable enough with ourselves and the honor system, we’ll all do it again — and with a completely different player, and maybe from a completely different sport — sometime down the line.

But, you were wrong about Jake DeBrusk and his importance to the Bruins.

I’ve seen your tweets. Assuming I haven’t muted or blocked you for being an exhausting human being. Some of you have a real inability to just chill the hell out and accept that Twitter is a place for stupid jokes and bullshit, not serious analysis. With apologies to Elon and the Twitter Blueminati, I save that for the place that pays me.

I’ve heard your calls into our programming. Assuming you called into this station and not one of the stations that plays dentist music. (Ever had a root canal while ”I’m Good (Blue)” by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha plays at least six times over the course of 90 minutes and with your mouth absolutely not getting enough of the necessary numbing agent? No? Well, let me tell ‘ya, the root canal feels like a dream compared to the soundtrack in that very moment. And even then, I’d probably still want that over your outdated anti-DeBrusk rants. Just more numb numb juice, please.)

• Celly szn is back.
  
  Jake DeBrusk scores in his first game back from injury.
  
  1-0 Boston. pic.twitter.com/1B5dnKFlW9

  — Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 18, 2023

• And lucky for us, the 26-year-old DeBrusk has wasted absolutely no time reminding us all just how crucial is to the Black and Gold’s success.

  To the point where it’s just plain undeniable.

  In action for two games since a 17-game absence due to a thumb and lower-body injury, DeBrusk has slid right back up to the B’s top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand and potted two goals, and scored the game-opening goal in both contests (both wins for the Bruins).

  Lighting the lamp and sending the Garden crowd into a frenzy was just one of the many things that DeBrusk missed during his absence, he admitted.

  “Probably just scoring goals,” DeBrusk said of what he missed most during his time on the shelf. “I think that’s the biggest thing. But, no, just everything with it. It’s one of those things where it’s the camaraderie on the bench, it’s the intense shifts where you’re flying around out there and also just skating fast.

  “It gets a little simple when everything gets taken away from you.”

• 

  Feb 20, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)

• It’s been almost a year since the Bruins made the decision to put DeBrusk to the right of Bergeron and Marchand on Boston’s top line. Oddly enough, it was when the team flew out to Seattle for a West Coast road swing, which is exactly what the team did following Monday’s win over the Senators.

  Over that 70-game run spent almost entirely on the top line (and with two different head coaches), DeBrusk has scored 34 goals and 58 points. His 34 goals are the second-most among all Bruins over that span (only David Pastrnak, with 54 goals, has scored more), and he’s second only to Pastrnak in even-strength goals (27 for DeBrusk compared to 37 for Pastrnak). DeBrusk’s his 58 points, meanwhile, rank sixth among all B’s skaters.

  Expand that outside of Boston and DeBrusk is tied for the 47th-most goals in hockey since then. That’s ahead of names such as Barkov, DeBrincat, Eichel, Buchnevich, and Svechnikov, just to name a few.

  One of 270 NHL forwards to play at least 800 five-on-five minutes since Feb. 24, 2022 (the road game against the Kraken where DeBrusk moved up to the line), DeBrusk ranks fourth in goals per 60 at 1.58. Only Pastrnak, the Devils’ Jack Hughes, and Toronto’s Auston Matthews have stronger rates on that front.

  DeBrusk is also 17th in shots per 60 (10.36), 16th in individual goals per 60 (1.05), and 19th in individual high-danger scoring chances per 60 (5.22). And only Matthew Tkachuk, Michael Bunting, and Auston Matthews have been on the ice for more high-danger goals for per 60 than DeBrusk (2.40).

  He’s been more than a ‘ride along’ with the B’s one-two punch.

• CELLY SZN rolls on 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sO3iIPj29m

  — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 20, 2023

• And the Bruins felt those losses during his absence.

  With DeBrusk out, the Bruins’ best bet was moving No. 88 back up to the top line with Bergeron and Marchand. Now, the trickle-down of going with the mega-power first line wasn’t as bad as it’s been in the past, but there was a noticeable pop missing from the lineup. The Bruins tried more than just Pastrnak, too. Craig Smith got a run with the top line, and they even tried Taylor Hall up there to some so-so results.

  Nobody was able to properly replace what DeBrusk brought to that mix.

  The numbers confirm as much.

  Since the creation of that line in late February 2022, the Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk line has played over 523 minutes of five-on-five time together. During that time, they’ve dominated the puck at a 63.51 corsi-for percentage, and they’ve also outshot opponents by a ridiculous 174 shots in total. The line has averaged just under 46 shots per 60, over 39 scoring chances per 60, and over 16 high-danger scoring chances per 60.

  All of those numbers take a dip in the almost 300 minutes that Bergeron and Marchand have played without No. 74 on the right. The most noticeable dip comes in terms of high-danger generation, with the Bruins averaging almost a full goal fewer high-danger goals for without DeBrusk on their line.

  That feels telling, especially when you look at the two goals DeBrusk has scored since returning to action, and the goals he scored in his final game before exiting the lineup with his injuries (the 2023 Winter Classic).

• 

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 18: Jake DeBrusk #74 of the Boston Bruins celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Islanders during the first period at TD Garden on February 18, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• And while DeBrusk’s impact on the first line is notable, it’s what his presence there does for the rest of the Boston lineup that’s just as important.

  With DeBrusk skating as a viable threat on the Black and Gold’s first line, the Bruins can comfortably put David Pastrnak to the right of Pavel Zacha and David Krejci on their second line. That line has had some absolutely wonderful chemistry in 2022-23, and is currently averaging 4.1 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play this year, which is the 15th-best among NHL lines with at least 200 five-on-five minutes together this season.

  It’s also allowed the Bruins to deploy Taylor Hall in a third-line role with space-creators Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic. It’s a line that’s showed some promise, particularly when it comes to the two-way game of Coyle and goal scoring of Frederic, and one that could become a matchup nightmare for the opposition over the course of a seven-game series. (I refuse to believe that you’re going to truly bottle a talent like Hall up for a full series if and when he’s going against other third line and third pairings.)

  None of this is possible without DeBrusk producing, and producing in a top-line role.

• 

  Apr 26, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) is congratulated by left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) and center Patrice Bergeron (37) after scoring against the Florida Panthers during the third period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)

• Once a player most wanted shipped away as soon as possible, DeBrusk has emerged as a legitimate ‘must-have’ in this Bruins lineup. Once put with Bergeron and Marchand to get his own game going, it now appears that DeBrusk is a presence that Bergeron and Marchand need to get going at full power.

  And it’s time we all acknowledge it.

  Even if it comes with swallowing some pride and owning up to some truly heinous takes.

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