Breaking: DeBrusk absent from the Bruins morning practice.

The Boston Bruins may be down a man ahead of a very important game against one of the top team's in their division.

The Boston Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont was the first to report this morning that 22 year old forward Jake DeBrusk was not on the ice for the Bruins morning skate and that obviously was not interpreted as a good sign for interested onlookers. That report has since been echoed by Boston Bruins insider Joe Haggerty who hinted at the fact that DeBrusk could be out of action for tonight's match up against a very tough and very healthy Toronto Maple Leafs' line up.

The timing could not be worse for the Bruins who currently find themselves sitting in the bottom half of the Atlantic Division behind team's like the aforementioned Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres and of course their most bitter of rivals the Montreal Canadiens. This is unfamiliar territory for the Bruins who have been a perennial playoff contender in recent years and it makes every match up within the division, especially those against teams who are above them in the standings, incredibly important moving forward. 

A win over a team like the Maple Leafs tonight would not only secure the Bruins 2 points in the standings but it could also serve as a way to prevent the Leafs from earning any points of their own over the course of this game. That will of course be made all the more difficult to do if a player the caliber of DeBrusk is missing from the line up as he has been a big contributor for the Bruins already this year. Through 28 games in the 2018 - 2019 NHL regular season DeBrusk has accumulated 10 goals and 2 assists for a total of 10 points ad it's that kind of goal scoring that has made him a valuable asset in the Bruins line up.

Update: According to Joe Haggerty it now sounds like DeBrusk will miss both of the games today and tomorrow as a result of his current ailment and by the sound of things it may be even more than that. Haggerty reports that DeBrusk is not feeling particularly well after taking a shot to the back of the head and that sounds like a problem that could keep him out for a little while.

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