Talking Points: Boston Bruins DeBrusk Shines Amidst Hot Streak

Here are the Talking Points from the Boston Bruins 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the place that I’ll always call the Staples Center.

GOLD STAR: Jake DeBrusk. Jake DeBrusk. Jake DeBrusk. That’s what happens when you notch the first hat trick of your NHL career and make it a natural hat track to get the Boston Bruins off to a roaring 3-0 start in an eventual blowout win. DeBrusk finished with three goals and four points along with a plus-3 rating in 14:25 of ice time and continues to enjoy one of his hottest streaks in the last few seasons with seven goals in his last five games. The latest goal-scoring binge has coincided with him playing right wing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and really using his speed and skill to great impact when it comes to creating scoring chances. The second goal was a beauty featuring DeBrusk helping to use speed and assertiveness to create chaos in the Los Angeles end, and that resulted in DeBrusk getting a perfect scoring chance in the slot where he buried it over Jon Quick’s glove hand. With his performance in the last couple of weeks, DeBrusk’s trade value may not get higher when it comes to another team needing an offensive spark.

BLACK EYE: Drew Doughty with a rough, rough night. He finished a minus-4 with zero shots on net in 22:13 of ice time and was part of a Los Angeles defensemen unit that experienced major trouble breaking out of their own zone. He wasn’t alone, though. Jonathan Quick’s first goal allowed was of the super-soft variety and really set the tone for the entire evening. And Mikey Anderson’s minus-5 on the night would account for a bad month for a lot of players. Let’s just say that the Los Angeles shutdown people didn’t get the job done on Monday night.

TURNING POINT: It was very clearly Jake DeBrusk’s natural hat trick that ended with DeBrusk redirecting a Patrice Bergeron shot in front of the Los Angeles net. Jonathan Quick signaled that it was a high stick and shouldn’t be a goal, but it was reviewed and called a good call. Once the DeBrusk goal counted and it was a 3-0 lead for the Boston Bruins in the first period, the LA Kings essentially waved the white flag of surrender and were done for the rest of the game allowing Boston their best offensive output in a couple of years in the blowout win.

First career hat trick for Jake DeBrusk accounts for all three goals in a 3-0 lead for the Bruins over the LA Kings pic.twitter.com/UvaBHtkz4q

— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) March 1, 2022

HONORABLE MENTION: Erik Haula has been an unheralded Boston Bruins player this season while doing an excellent job of playing a responsible 200-foot game as the B’s center while Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak get to have a lot of the offensive fun. But Haula’s offense has been rising in the last few weeks and it hit a high point with the Bruins on Monday as he scored a pair of goals. Haula finished with the two goals and a plus-3 rating in 14:11 of ice time to go along with three shots on net, six shot attempts, one hit, one blocked shot and 6-of-11 face-off wins for the No. 2 center in an efficient and effective performance. He’s actually on pace for a decent 11 goals and 32 points this season after a very slow start to the year, and that’s a reflection on how he’s played as of late.

BY THE NUMBERS: 100 – the number of career goals for Erik Haula after he scored a pair for the B’s in the blowout victory.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “I think that means that I have the attributes to do it if that makes any sense. This is the best league in the world. It’s hard to do that every night, even top guys on each team have off nights or off swings. I sure like it when things are going like this.” –Jake DeBrusk when asked about his streakiness that is paying off right now.