Jake DeBrusk made the most of his promotion to the Boston Bruins’ top line, scoring twice, including the game-winner just 33 seconds into overtime, to lead the Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
“I’ve had some good puck luck lately, so it’s been going in the right direction,” DeBrusk said. “I was really excited.”
The Bruins kicked off their lengthy road trip with a third consecutive win and welcomed back Brad Marchand from suspension. DeBrusk’s first goal came off a fortunate bounce in the first period, and he secured the win with a shot from a tight angle that beat Seattle goalie Philipp Grubauer on the short side in overtime.
DeBrusk joined the top line with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron for the first time this season ahead of Thursday’s game. His last two-goal performance was on January 9, 2020, against Winnipeg.
David Pastrnak also scored his 28th goal of the season—his 20th in the last 23 games—early in the second period to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
Marchand, returning after a six-game suspension for roughing and high-sticking Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry on February 8, played nearly 22 minutes, had seven shots, and stayed out of the penalty box.
“I was happy with his game,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “On the surface, I thought he looked good.”
Boston goalie Linus Ullmark made 25 saves to help secure the win.
Mark Giordano and Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle, while Grubauer made 36 saves, the second-most in a game this season. Despite his strong performance, the Kraken have now lost six straight games.
“We played hard for 60 minutes, bottom line. Tough way to lose a hockey game,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Proud of our effort.”
In the last three games, Seattle struck first with Giordano’s second short-handed goal. The Kraken spent much of the first period on the penalty kill, including a four-minute double minor for high-sticking on Adam Larsson.
Seattle survived the penalties, but Boston tied the game on a lucky bounce. Erik Haula’s pass from behind the net deflected over the goal, and Seattle defenseman Jeremy Lauzon attempted to clear it out of midair. However, he missed, and the puck dropped into the crease, where DeBrusk tapped it in.
Lauzon, a former Bruin, was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft.
“I told him I owed him a couple of beers,” DeBrusk joked. “He’s a good friend of mine.”
Boston took a 2-1 lead on Pastrnak’s one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Charlie McAvoy, but the Kraken responded quickly. Eberle capitalized on a 3-on-1 break during a Bruins line change, flipping a backhanded shot past Ullmark at 13:19 of the second period to tie the game.
It was Eberle’s 15th goal of the season and just his third since December 6.
“The big picture is we’ve lost six in a row. That’s unacceptable,” Eberle said. “But we’ve got to find a way to keep going. We’re playing better. We just need to stay aggressive.”
MCCANN OUT
Seattle’s leading scorer, Jared McCann, was placed on injured reserve on Thursday due to an upper-body injury. Seattle coach Dave Hakstol hopes McCann’s time on IR will be short. McCann leads the Kraken with 33 points and a career-high 21 goals. He is one of four Seattle players currently on injured reserve, along with Jaden Schwartz, Brandon Tanev, and Karson Kuhlman.
Game Notes
Giordano now has 12 career short-handed goals, the most among active defensemen and the seventh-most among defensemen in NHL history. … Boston improved to 5-4 in overtime games this season, while Seattle is 2-5. Seattle recalled forward Kole Lind from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers to fill McCann’s roster spot. Lind was one of three scratches for the Kraken.
UP NEXT
- Bruins: Visit San Jose on Saturday.
- Kraken: Visit San Jose on Sunday.
