The Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Friday night, sending them to the post-season in six games. The Boston Bruins battled through injuries and a lack of productivity in a seven-game series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. It was a hard-fought series.
But it’s not just for the Stanley Cup Playoffs that you may play with injuries. After the game on Friday, forward Jake DeBrusk talked with media about the illnesses he had during the 2023–24 regular season.
DeBrusk stated, “I missed a game, probably right before the bye week, because I broke my hand,” alluding to the Philadelphia Flyers game on January 27. It took a week for it to fully recover, so I knew my playoff experience would be better.
It was difficult for him to hold the stick’s shaft while controlling the puck, since he claimed it was his left hand.
In order to put things in perspective, the Bruins’ first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs began on April 20 while their bye week was between January 28 and February 5. This indicates that DeBrusk supposedly played with a fractured hand for over three months, from the end of January to the middle of April.
DeBrusk finished the season with 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 80 games. With five goals and six assists for 11 points in 13 games, he played a significant role in Boston’s success over the first two rounds of the playoffs.
DeBrusk, who was selected by the Bruins with the 14th pick overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, has played in all seven of his NHL seasons for Boston. Two times in his career, he scored 27 goals, the first in 2018–19 and the second in 2022–23. After ending with 27 goals and 23 assists in the previous season, he achieved his first 50-point milestone.
Before the 2022–2023 season, the 27-year-old DeBrusk signed a two-year, $8 million contract extension. He was now in the final year of that deal. On July 1, he will be a free agent without restrictions.
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