Here’s what we learned in the Bruins' 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center home of the Avs, marred by a potentially serious injury to Zdeno Chara:
-- One of the few positives in an ultimately negative evening in Denver was the play of second-year winger Jake DeBrusk, who continues to show that he’s shedding the early season doldrums that kept his offense under wraps. DeBrusk scored a pair of goals against the Avs, including a breakaway at the end of the first period and a power-play goal while manning the net-front position on the top power-play unit. DeBrusk took over in front of the net when Ryan Donato was sent to Providence and he has the exact combination of toughness, grit and hands that could really be an asset with so much other offensive firepower around him. He showed that when he redirected home a David Pastrnak point blast in the second period, and he now has four goals in his last four games. In all DeBrusk had the two goals, two shots on net, a blocked shot and a registered hit in 16:53 of ice time and can at least say that he did his part before things began falling apart later in the game at high altitude. It’s not an understatement to say that DeBrusk is arguably the most important forward on the B’s roster outside of the top three guys on the Perfection Line, and he’s begun to play like it.
-- Six goals allowed on 25 shots isn’t going to get it done no matter how high-powered the offense, and no matter how challenged the defense is in front of him without Zdeno Chara in the lineup. So Jaroslav Halak didn’t get the job done on Wednesday night, and had his second bad game in a Bruins uniform to go along with the blowout loss to the Vancouver Canucks last week. In fact last night’s loss has knocked Halak completely out of the NHL’s top five in goals-against average and save percentage, and it doesn’t bode well for the short-term future -- for either goalie -- if the Bruins are missing their biggest defensive stopper in Chara. So what does Bruce Cassidy do on Friday night against the Stars? Does he go with Tuukka Rask behind a super-young defense with only one practice session behind him since the B’s opted for no skate on Thursday? Or does he go with Halak again and ease Rask back into the fold after his three-day leave of absence last weekend? These are tough questions, but I’d almost opt to switch things up and go with Rask on Friday just to see where his No. 1 goalie’s game is at this point in a month where he usually starts to dominate.
PLUS
-- Jake DeBrusk scored a pair of goals that staked the Bruins to a 3-1 lead in the game, and now has four goals in his last four games as he’s really begun heating up for the first time this season. It’s unfortunate that the team wasn’t able to hang in there once things started to really get tough in the Mile High City.
-- David Pastrnak scored the game’s first goal and helped create the team’s third goal of the game that staked them to a two-goal lead, and now leads the NHL with 17 goals scored on the season. We’re just midway through November. He is truly amidst a really special season for the B’s.
-- Mikko Rantanen had a goal and three points and was part of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Line, which really dominated things. Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon also chipped in with goals for Colorado and Rantanen was the best player on the ice for either side.
MINUS
-- The Bruins’ young third line of Anders Bjork, Danton Heinen and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson had just a single shot on net and went invisible after having a couple of good games in a row. This will probably be par for the course for a while as they mature at the NHL level, but last night wasn’t a good one for them.
-- Jaroslav Halak gave up six goals on 25 shots, so he wasn’t good against Colorado. The Avalanche made a lot of things happen with their tremendous skill against Boston’s depleted defense, but they needed a few saves from Halak that they didn’t get.
-- The injury to Zdeno Chara could really throw the Bruins for a loop if it’s all serious. It sure looked like his left knee buckled upon impact and it’s always significant when Chara can’t find a way to return to a game as happened last night after the first period.
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