Boston Bruins: Welcome back Jake DeBrusk

The Boston Bruins continued their dominance of Florida hockey defeating the Panthers in a Saturday matinee.

The boys keep on rolling. The Boston Bruins are destroying teams as of late. They defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night to move into first place of the Eastern Conference and were by far the better team. The Bruins were energized skating like they had been shot out of a cannon and delivering devastating hits (as well as some punches).

The momentum seemed to carry over as the Bruins played in a similarly dominant fashion on Saturday and defeated the Florida Panthers 5-1.

A new dangerous duo?

The Bruins have had some great performances from a lot of guys. There is the amazing first line, Charlie McAvoy, and Zdeno Chara, Riley Nash and Danton Heinen. Even this late into the season, the Bruins may have found a new dynamic duo.

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Jake DeBrusk was playing in his first game after dealing with an upper-body injury. It was expected that he may have had some rust as he hasn’t played for a few weeks, but DeBrusk seemed to have shaken all of the rust off during warmups.

DeBrusk’s first goal of the game showed that he and Ryan Donato may be a dangerous combination. Donato was behind the net and made a great pass to DeBrusk who was crashing the net. DeBrusk saw an opening and was able to give the Bruins the lead.

With DeBrusk returning I thought that Donato would be going down a line, but it looks like it may be hard to separate the two rookies. DeBrusk also had the Bruins final goal of the game, and now has 16 goals this season.

Donato also went on to score his 4th goal of the season. He unleashed a sick wrist shot that blew by James Reimer. Just like McAvoy last season, Donato has made a big impact in a short amount of time.

The big bad Bruins

The Boston Bruins last two games have been really physical. They have been playing hockey that all fans can enjoy. On Saturday the ice became a boxing ring a few times.

Why do people fight Adam McQuaid? It makes no sense to me. McQuaid might have to start registering his knuckles as a dangerous weapon because he destroyed Michael Haley in the 2nd period. He delivered some uppercuts, that looked like they may have put Floyd Mayweather on the ground.

Also, Noel Acciari participated in his first NHL fight. After delivering a solid bodycheck, Acciari was approached by MacKenzie Weeger who was not pleased. Acciari would go on to unleash a flurry of punches. He was switching from the head to the body. It was like he was a pro.

Now fights may be dangerous, but this is the type of play fans love to see. There is some hatred on the ice. The boards are rattling from hits, it’s so exciting to watch.

Can the Bruins please stay healthy?

The Bruins have had issues with injuries all season. They have two more to add to the list after Saturday’s game.

Brandon Carlo had to be stretchered off the ice, which is never a good sign. Carlo ended up on one skate and his ankle just couldn’t take it. The injury looked really bad. I wouldn’t expect Carlo to return this season, but then again hockey players are the toughest athletes in the universe.

There was another scary injury as well. Riley Nash got hit in the side of the face by a Torey Krug shot. He needed help off the ice and was bleeding from the side of the head. Head injuries are very serious so Nash will definitely be out for some time. Unlike Carlo, I think we may see Nash return at some point this year.

The Boston Bruins have dealt with injuries all season, and with how well they have played I am not even fazed. Everything is fine, the Bruins are still very capable of winning a Stanley Cup. They are still in first place and still have a game in hand on the Lightning.

Next: The Bruins are the best team in the NHL

It is a great time to be a Boston sports fan, and I know I am ready for another championship parade.