DeBrusk, Poitras And Forbort Return; Rask An EBUG Again

Boston Bruins forwards Jake DeBrusk and Matthew Poitras, as well as defenseman Derek Forbort were all back on the ice when the team returned to the ice on Sunday for the team’s first practice out of the NHL All-Star Break.

All three players were late injury scratches before the Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-2 in their final game before the break. Seeing Poitras and Forbort, not just DeBrusk, had to be a pleasant surprise for the Bruins, given what head coach Jim Montgomery said prior to the faceoff on Jan. 27.

“I don’t have concrete answers on everybody,” Montgomery replied when asked for any prognosis on all three players. “J.D. [DeBrusk] is the only one that’s day-to-day.”

DeBrusk – who recently reiterated to Boston Hockey Now that he wants to sign a contract extension with the Bruins – has been playing his best hockey of the season lately. He has seven goals and seven assists in his last 16 games and has become a multi-faceted weapon for Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, who recently said DeBrusk’s recent play is the ‘best version’ of DeBrusk that he’s seen since becoming head coach of the Bruins prior to last season.

Poitras returned from a shoulder injury a week before the break after missing four games thanks to a shoulder injury suffered in the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Coyotes on Jan. 9. The 19-year-old rookie center has five goals and ten assists in 33 games.

Forbort also came back for that 9-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 20. The rugged, 6-foot-4, 219-pound defenseman had missed 21 games with an undisclosed injury.

Boston Bruins All-Stars David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman were given the day off after participating in the 2024 NHL All-Star game and skills competition this weekend in Toronto. With Swayman out, former Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was the emergency backup goalie again in practice.

The boys are back in town 💪 pic.twitter.com/yXaF7YUFl3

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 4, 2024

Here’s what the lineup looked like at practice on Sunday:

Forwards

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk

James van Riemsdyk-Pavel Zacha-Matthew Poitras

Danton Heinen-Morgan Geekie-Trent Frederic

Jakub Lauko-Jesper Boqvist-Oskar Steen

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort-Kevin Shattenkirk

Parker Wotherspoon

Goalies

Linus Ullmark

Tuukka Rask (EBUG)

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