BOSTON — Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk thought he would provide more production in the Stanley Cup playoffs after an uneven regular season.
The reasoning behind that was simple for DeBrusk. He no longer felt the effects of an injury that was kept under wraps and one he played through for most of the second half of the season.
DeBrusk revealed following Boston’s season-ending loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 6 on Friday night at TD Garden that he broke his left hand in late January.
“It was a rough regular season,” DeBrusk said. “I was dealing with some injuries. Broke my hand probably right before bye week, so I missed a game actually. Didn’t really heal probably until about a week out of playoffs. So, I knew my playoffs were going to be better. I could shoot the puck. It was my bottom hand. Medical staff did a great job of making sure I was ready to play and all that stuff.”
DeBrusk sat out Boston’s final game before the All-Star break on Jan. 27 against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was just one of two games DeBrusk was sidelined for all season — the other contest he wasn’t in for came as a healthy scratch for missing a team meeting early in the season.
DeBrusk still turned in 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points in the regular season, but his play went up a notch in the playoffs. He was nearly a point per game player as he tallied five goals and six assists in 13 games.
The 27-year-old winger notched one assist in each of the final four games against the Panthers, including a highlight-reel helper on Pavel Zacha’s breakaway goal in the final minute of the first period to open the scoring in Game 6.
“There were some things that were going on this year, which makes it frustrating,” DeBrusk said. “Not being able to do that and just feeling limited to be honest with you. Tried to play through it. I thought I could help the team out in different ways, whether it was penalty killing or stuff like that. I knew I was going to have a good playoffs. I had confidence in that. But at the same time, I think I said after Game 1 of the whole thing, I didn’t care what I did. I wanted to win.”
DeBrusk’s future with the Bruins is uncertain as they head into the offseason. DeBrusk is about to hit unrestricted free agency after being unable to come to a contract extension with Boston during the season.
