Andre Burakovsky and his jacked-up face talked to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir after the Colorado Avalanche’s morning skate on Thursday.
Burakovsky, sporing stitches and a black eye, confirmed that he cleared his schedule for his former roommate, Tom Wilson, to hang out and spent some time with some of his other former Capitals teammates: Jakub Vrana, John Carlson, and Nicklas Backstrom.
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“If I could put a finger on what it is, I probably would have done the same thing in Washington.”—Andre Burakovsky, who has 17 goals and 24 assists in 52 games for the #Avs. Burky had dinner with former teammates Vrana, Wilson, Carlson and Backstrom last night. #Caps pic.twitter.com/ZDFDWvnt9x
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) February 13, 2020
“Vrana, Tom, John, and Backy came over to my house for a little bit,” Burakovsky said. “Then we went to dinner. Nicky had to go to dinner with his brother but me John, Tom, and Vrana we went to sushi and it was good.”
Burakovsky told El-Bashir that he kept in close touch with his teammates that he won a Stanley Cup with in 2018.
“I talk to them all the time,” Burakovsky said. “Trying to catch up. Obviously we don’t see each other as much anymore. It is what it is. As much as we can keep in touch on the phone and in text, it’s good. We’re trying to do it as much as possible.”
Burakovsky got sentimental in an interview with The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark, saying that Tom Wilson is “the kind of guy who always takes care of his close circle.”
Andre Burakovsky had the every Caps player over at his house for dinner last night.
Tom Wilson, who is one of his best friends, said Burakovsky is “the kind of guy who always takes care of his close circle.”
“He takes care of the guys he calls friends.” #Avs #AllCaps
— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) February 13, 2020
The Swedish forward was also asked about what was going so right for him with the Avs. Burakovsky has flourished in a top-six role, scoring 17 goals and tallying a career-high 41 points in 52 games. He recently had his first four-point night in the NHL.
“It’s a tough question,” Burakovsky said. “If I could put a finger on what it is, I would have done the same thing in Washington. Like you said, I’m getting a lot of opportunities. I’m playing way more. I feel like I can do mistakes and I can keep playing. Before I was a little nervous every time I made a mistake I wouldn’t play or something else would happen. Right now, I’m just playing with confidence. I’m been doing that all year. We’ve been talking about it before. I’ve been feeling good all year, skating good, handling the puck more, shooting the puck more than I used to.”
