Jake DeBrusk visits with doctor
“If he gets diagnosed in any way, shape or form, then he’ll go into that [concussion] protocol."
Jake DeBrusk saw a doctor Tuesday, rather than get ready to face the Coyotes.
When Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy met with the media before puck drop, he did not have word on a possible concussion diagnosis for the second-year winger, who ranks second on the team in goals (10). Cassidy termed him “day-to-day.’’
DeBrusk, who missed his third consecutive game, took a friendly fire shot to the back of the head on Nov. 26 at Toronto. After Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev dumped him in front of the net, Danton Heinen unloaded toward the goal and nailed his prone linemate.
DeBrusk, who missed a shift but returned, said he was OK the day after, if a little sore, and called out Zaitsev for slew-footing him. He played in the Bruins’ next four games. However, he did not appear to be his usual self (0-0—0, eight shots, minus-6). He finally reported to the team he felt unwell after playing 15:03 in Tampa last Thursday.
“If he gets diagnosed in any way, shape or form, then he’ll go into that [concussion] protocol,’’ Cassidy said. “As we’ve seen in the past, some of those come around quicker than others. Probably better not to speculate.’’
Against the Lightning, Cassidy moved center David Krejci, formerly paired with DeBrusk, to the No. 1 line between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Entering Tuesday, that trio had four goals and 10 assists in the Bruins’ last three games, the last two of which they rode together exclusively.
Other injury updates:
Both Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron are skating on their own.
Wednesday will be four weeks since Chara’s MCL injury in Colorado. Four weeks ago Friday, Bergeron suffered a rib/sternoclavicular injury in Dallas, when Stars center Radek Faksa rode him into the boards.
“To say they’re close to playing I don’t think is accurate,’’ Cassidy noted.
Aftereffects
Sean Kuraly has a deep voice, rich enough that a reporter recently asked him if he ever took a broadcasting class in his days at Miami University (a management major there, he did not).
Kuraly’s pipes sounded slightly nasal Tuesday. His broken nose skewed to the right. A shiner hung below his left eye.
All that, the product of an uppercut from Ottawa defenseman Ben Harpur, who caught him bent over in their fight Sunday, tagging him with an uppercut to the nose. Kuraly, who had riled up Harpur with a couple stiff bodychecks, still had one glove on when the 6-foot-6-inch Senator started swinging.
“That’s the way it goes sometimes,’’ said Kuraly, who wasn’t planning on wearing extra facial protection Tuesday. “I didn’t really have a good grab on him. I guess you learn.’’
Harper was hit with an instigator penalty. The Bruins evened the score with a Brad Marchand power-play goal. Kuraly nearly got his revenge in overtime, when he almost scored the winner during a rare 3-on-3 shift. Ottawa goalie Mike McKenna slid post-to-post with a pad stack to deny his wide-open 2-on-1 wrister from the slot.
“[Cassidy] had some confidence,’’ said the speedy fourth-line center (1-3—4 in 29 games). “I felt like I was playing better, too. Got a good chance at the end. . . . I think it’s a step in the right direction for my game.’’
The pressure’s on
The Coyotes entered Tuesday tied with the Bruins for fewest goals allowed (76, same as the Hurricanes and Predators), and led the league in penalty kill percentage (90.2, a league-low eight power play goals against).
They had also scored 0n the PK 11 times, five more than any other team.
Cassidy’s film study showed “pressure all over the ice,’’ he said. “They’ll sell out and they’ll organize [properly] when they do it. . . . If you make a mistake or bobble the puck they have a lot speed up front and can go the other way in a hurry.’’
Some of that speed — forward Michael Grabner — is sidelined. Grabner took a stick near the left eye against St. Louis two Saturdays ago. Only one active player entered Tuesday with more shorthanded goals than Grabner (19): Brad Marchand (23), who debuted the same year (2009-10).
The Bruins have PPGs in each of their last two games (2 for 7).
A Garden dream
Michael Grabner’s injury opened the door for rookie winger Conor Garland. A Scituate buddy of Bruins rookie Ryan Donato, Garland was recalled from AHL Tuscon on Dec. 3.
“It’s something you dream about your whole life, to play in the Garden,’’ said Garland, a fifth-round pick (No. 123 overall) in 2015. “I was a Bruins fan for a while . . . until I got drafted here.’’
Generously listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 165 pounds, Garland left the Boston Junior Bruins program for the USHL (Muskegon) before ripping it up with QMJHL Moncton. He was twice the Q’s leading scorer and once its MVP, finishing his junior days with 328 points in 206 games.
Triple threat
In Rick Tocchet’s prime, when he played for the 1992-93 Penguins, he produced numbers the NHL may never see again: 48 goals, 61 assists, and 252 penalty minutes.
Tocchet, a two-year Bruin (1995-97) who arrived here in exchange for Kevin Stevens, was focused on goals, not goonery. His Coyotes, averaging 25 shots per game in their last six, aren’t finding the net enough for his liking.
“As much as we’re hanging in there, tie games, we’re getting single-digit chances,’’ Arizona’s coach said Sunday. “We’re looking for offense.’’
Net trouble
“Goaltending by committee’’ is a sub-optimal state of affairs, but that’s what the Coyotes face.
The Coyotes learned over the weekend that starting netminder Antti Raanta could miss the rest of the season with a lower-body injury. Rick Tocchet started Darcy Kuemper, who hasn’t played since Nov. 21 because of a lower-body injury.
Kuemper, 6-5 and 215 pounds, is a 28-year-old career backup. This year, he is 4-5-2 with a 2.71 GAA and .914 save percentage.
Tocchet’s other options these days are rookie Adin Hill, who started the previous five games (and allowed nine goals, seven in his last two outings), and waiver pickup Calvin Pickard (put up an .863 save percentage in Philadelphia, as goalies there tend to do).
GM John Chayka told reporters Sunday that he won’t look to trade for a netminder, hoping that one of his trio will emerge. He watched Raanta do it last year, after stepping out of Henrik Lundqvist’s shadow via trade.
McAvoy in form
Has Cassidy noticed any hesitation from defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who returned last Thursday from his first known concussion? “Zero,’’ Cassidy said . . . Coming off his Oct. 23 concussion, rookie defenseman Urho Vaakanainen contracted the flu. His recovery timetable is unknown . . . Tuukka Rask, who played Sunday and made 27 saves in the 2-1 overtime win at Ottawa, got the call again for Boston. The Bruins visit Pittsburgh on Friday . . . Arizona is averaging 12,533 for home games at Gila River Arena. It has not sold out since drawing 17,125 for its home opener against Anaheim. The Nov. 17 Bruins game was the second-highest attendance of the year . . . Boston entered Tuesday with a sellout streak of 398 regular-season and playoff games.
