It's gotten to that point for Jake DeBrusk. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed after Tuesday's morning skate that the struggling winger will be a healthy scratch for Tuesday night's game against the Islanders.
DeBrusk has scored just one goal in 17 games this season -- none at even-strength -- and has struggled to even get chances, registering just five shots on goal in the last four games.
"Well, we've tried different angles with Jake," Cassidy said. "He's met one-on-one with myself, he's met with the coaches one-on-one, Joe [Sacco] and Jay [Pandolfo], met with lines, talked to some of the veteran guys. So at the end of the day, we're not quite getting out of Jake what we want. Some of that is circumstance and situation -- he's moved around a bit, been hurt, his center he's played with in the past [David Krejci] has been hurt. But I still feel he's been given ice time to perform to the best of his ability.
"We just feel we're not getting the effort required. It's not always about the score sheet; it's about being one of 20 guys helping you win. Some nights it's there, some nights it's not. Again, we've tried different messaging with the player. Sometimes going upstairs and taking a look is not a bad way to go. Put a different perspective on it, maybe have a different appreciation for being in there, and then maybe educating yourself on some things that you see from up top that look a little easier than they do in the live action. At the end of the day, he's not the first person who's been scratched, and he won't be the last. But we want to make him a better player in the long run, and this is the avenue we're going to take today, and then sort it out on Thursday when the Rangers are in town."
With DeBrusk out, Cassidy is moving Jack Studnicka back to right wing to play with David Krejci and Nick Ritchie, while Sean Kuraly goes back into his usual fourth-line center spot after being a healthy scratch the last two games.
In other lineup news, Tuukka Rask did not travel to New York for the one-game road trip after being in visible discomfort late in Sunday's game. Jaroslav Halak was scheduled to start Tuesday anyways, so the Bruins elected to give Rask the day completely off to rest instead of having him travel just to back up.
Cassidy said Rask is "feeling better" and that he doesn't believe it's anything serious.
Here are the Bruins' projected lines for Tuesday night:
