Jake DeBrusk hasn't hated his all-around play this season. Neither has his coach, Jim Montgomery. But both parties know the Bruins winger has to start scoring more as he enters Tuesday night's game in Buffalo with one goal and four assists in 13 games.
"I think I just have to continue to build my game. I think that I haven't really hated my game. I think it's just a matter of, I haven't really been getting looks," DeBrusk said after Monday's practice.
It's that last part that's most concerning to DeBrusk. He doesn't feel like this prolonged scoring slump is just a matter of bad luck, although that's certainly part of it. As we explained here, DeBrusk's 3.4% shooting percentage this season is way below his career average of 12.6%, and is pretty much guaranteed to improve.
DeBrusk has been attempting shots during 5-on-5 play at pretty much the same rate as last season, but there has been a dip in how many of those attempts have come from high-danger areas (from 5.94 per 60 minutes last season to 4.34 this season) and how many have landed on net (from 10.14 per 60 last year to 7.96 this year).
DeBrusk seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough when he scored his first goal against Toronto on Nov. 2. He had four shots on goal in that game and five more plus an assist two nights later against Detroit. In three games since then, though, he has zero points and five total shots on goal.
"It's one of the things that you worry about when you don't get looks, and it seems like they've been coming and going, to be honest with you," DeBrusk said. "I don't think I've really missed any grade-A's. I haven't really had many, so that's obviously something I need to change and that I can control in part.
"I know that when they usually do come, they come in bunches. Once they do, I just have to put them in the net. In terms of it affecting my other game, I think I do different things now as part of my career when it comes to being defensive. But at the same time, I've been a goal-scorer my whole life and there's nobody that hates this more than me."
Not that there's ever a good time for a goal-scorer to be in a slump, but this could be an especially bad time for DeBrusk because he's in a contract year. He wants to score to help the Bruins win, of course, but it would also only be human to think about your future and setting yourself up to maximize your earnings.
Coming off a career-high 27 goals and 50 points last season, DeBrusk could have been in line for a payday comparable to Brandon Hagel, a winger with similar production to that point who got $6.5 million per year from the Lightning over the summer. Obviously, DeBrusk is going to have to pick up the pace if he's going to get an offer anywhere near that neighborhood, though. He is trying not to think about that next contract, but admitted it can be hard not to.
"I don't try to put any more pressure on me," DeBrusk said. "But it's one of those things that obviously it's pretty hard not to look at it when you have one in 13. So, it definitely doesn't help, but at the same time, it is what it is and we're 11-1-2. It's a long year and it's one of those things that I try not to obviously think about. … I've gone through it a couple of times now and it is what it is, but I'm in no position to think about contracts at this moment. I'm trying to get the puck in the net."
Montgomery's focus when it comes to DeBrusk is making sure the rest of his game doesn't slip just because he's not scoring at the moment, something he said is common for slumping goal-scorers in his experience. Montgomery has detected at least a little bit of that slippage in recent games.
"I think when you're in a situation where you're a gifted offensive player like him, when you're not getting the results, you stop working the way you usually do that leads to results," Montgomery said. "And we're in constant communication as a staff, myself especially with Jake, because Jake makes the Boston Bruins a really good hockey team.
"Just staying on him about his habits and details that him and I have talked about, that we both agree upon is part of what makes him a special player, needs to be consistent for 60 minutes. It's in spurts right now, and that's typical of an offensive player who is not having the offensive success he's used to."
Bruins captain Brad Marchand is someone who, by DeBrusk's own admission, has gotten on DeBrusk in the past if his practice effort has slipped at all. Marchand says he hasn't had to do that this season, though, and credited DeBrusk for practicing the right way even though he's not scoring like he wants.
"He had a lot to learn just about practice habits and stuff, but he's come a long way and I think he's been much better this year than in the past. I really haven't had to get on him," Marchand said. "The biggest thing that I get on guys for in practices is their effort level and their compete level. There's days where we all miss passes and we're not on all the time, but your effort level and your compete level, that's an option and you can control that.
"He's been much better at that. Every day in practice, he seems to have his energy level up and competing hard and skating. The reason for that is it transitions into a game. The way that you practice and you work on your off days, that directly affects how you play the games. It's all about consistency. So, he's been a lot better in that area. I haven't had to get on him, which is great. Very happy about that. I don't want to get on him."
Marchand believes it's just a matter of time before those good practices translate to better production for DeBrusk.
"It's gonna come," he said. "He's too good of a player."
