Through his first 23 games with the Bruins, DeBrusk has six goals and 13 points and is earning the respect of his veteran teammates.
DeBrusk had quite the eventful game against the New York Islanders on Saturday night. Four minutes into the second period, DeBrusk took exception to a hit on Charlie McAvoy by Casey Cizikas. Without hesitation, DeBrusk dropped the gloves and stepped in for the first fight in his NHL career.
DeBrusk earned 17 penalty minutes with five for fighting, a two-minute instigator and the automatic 10-minute misconduct that comes with it. After missing most of the second period, DeBrusk got the last laugh by scoring the eventual game winning goal in the third.
Even though he was overmatched in his fight with Cizikas, it was not lost on the leaders of the team.
"It really showed that he's a great teammate," captain Zdeno Chara told
the Bruins official website. "You don't have to be a big guy to drop gloves and stand up for your teammate and he did. Good for him, he showed a lot of character in that act. He did pretty well. Obviously the toughness is something he has in his family. It's a great sign of being part of a good team."
Alternate captain David Backes knows a thing or two about sticking up for a teammate and he was impressed with DeBrusk's actions as well.
"He comes through there and he sticks up for his teammate, that shows a lot," said Backes. "Then to capitalize on a goal after not playing for 17 minutes - I was asking if he jumped on a bike there in the second period or what to keep going, because I know that can be a tough thing to get your feet back under you and get up to speed again."
Were you happy to Jake DeBrusk drop the gloves in defense of Charlie McAvoy?
