BOSTON – Tuesday was a homecoming of sorts for Jake DeBrusk.

The forward returned to TD Garden as a visitor for the first time in his career when his Vancouver Canucks took on his former Boston Bruins. DeBrusk said after Vancouver’s eventual 2-0 win that he had seen some of his former teammates in recent days, but it was still emotional to return to the place he called home for seven years.

“It was a super weird game, to be honest,” DeBrusk told Canucks reporter Olivia McDonald. “It was just one of those things where there’s a lot of emotion.”

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DeBrusk heard a lot of cheering as he was on the ice for a warm-up and even received a pack of Oreos – one of his favorite treats – from Bruins fans. The jumbotron showed a video tribute to both him and Danton Heinen with highlights from their time in Boston — including “Chef DeBrusk” from when he hosted a virtual cooking class in 2020. DeBrusk greeted the crowd who gave him a standing ovation.

“Once you got on that ice, it was pretty intense. I’m not gonna lie. … It’s hard, it’s not easy,” he said. “But at the same time there are many beautiful memories in it. I even forgot the chef. But there are many things that when you are 18 to 27 years old you are told that you fall in love with the city. Obviously I’ve had highs and lows and a lot of different things. It was a pretty cool moment, but the whole day was a little weird today.”

DeBrusk scored the first goal of the match and ultimately became the match winner. The Bruins challenged it for a handpass, but were unsuccessful. Coach Joe Sacco was confident it would be overturned, and even DeBrusk wasn’t sure if it would count, having called back similar goals — especially one in the playoffs when he was with Boston.

Despite all the emotions, Canucks coach Rick Tocchet was happy to see DeBrusk return to a familiar place.

“It’s always fun to get back to where you were traded or signed as a free agent,” Tocchet said. “He had a lot of good years. He loves Boston. He loves the fans. It was nice to see him score.”