Brassard on injury: May have played too quickly

Derick Brassard’s late season injury might have impacted him more than he, or the Penguins, initially let on.

Brassard admitted Wednesday that he might have tried to come back a bit too quickly from the lower-body injury that kept him out for the final five games of the regular season.

“I was dealing with some stuff,” Brassard said. “Maybe I came back a little too quick. I hurt myself before the playoffs, but I wanted to be there. I wanted to be there for Game 1 to help the team as much as I can. It kind of came back a little bit after that in round two. I was just trying to kind of forget about that and push as hard as I can.”

The playoffs were frustrating for Brassard, but he’s looking forward to building on his regular-season time with the Penguins.

Like most of his teammates, Brassard declined to reveal the specific nature of his injury — or possibly injuries — saying he didn’t want to use them as any sort of excuse for a playoff run that ended too quickly by the Penguins’ standards.

“Everyone is playing through some injuries,” he said. “I don’t think it’s one of those things I want to do, be like, ‘Oh I was playing with two injuries or three.’ It is what it is. I’ll just come back and be better.”

Brassard admitted the time off in late March and into April made it tough to get back up to speed when he returned for the playoffs.

“I felt like I was coming along before I got hurt, before playoffs,” he said. “Those two weeks, I really wish I could’ve played those games. I got hurt there, and, after that, you’re missing two weeks. I didn’t really skate much. You’re kind of trying to find your timing back, everything.”

Brassard scored one goal in 12 playoff games, with three assists. By the end of the series against the Washington Capitals, he was playing on the fourth line, averaging 11:29 of ice time per game over the last three contests.

“The 10-12 minutes that I had, I was trying to get the best out of it,” Brassard said. “But I was accepting it. I’m not standing here [complaining] about it, I was all in with the guys to try and win a Cup.”

In 14 regular-season games, Brassard had three goals and five assists. He had six points in the six games before his injury March 27 and seemed to be finding chemistry with Conor Sheary and Phil Kessel.

“Just before my injury, I had some good times with Phil, we scored a couple of goals, but after that, in the playoffs, he was playing with [Evgeni] Malkin or [Riley] Sheahan, it was just a decision the coach made. I go on the ice when he tells me to go on the ice.”

On the whole, Brassard admitted the transition to being a third-line center from a top-two guy was a bit tougher than he anticipated.

“I think there was a feeling-out process or an adjustment process that he went through,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I don’t know that we ever got there, to the comfort level where we know he’s capable of being the player he is.”

Brassard is looking forward to a full offseason of rest and recovery — he had surgery the past two summers — and a training camp with the Penguins.

“Even in the playoffs sometimes, I was making — not mistakes — but I wasn’t in the right position or I was thinking a lot out there,” Brassard said. “Going through a full training camp, I can get comfortable, get my own place here and I think it’s going to be good for me.”