McDonald: Bruce Cassidy made right decision to bench Torey Krug

WASHINGTON — Not going to say this often, but Torey Krug deserved to sit.

Assuming no illness or injury, it was a tough night for the Bruins defenseman. He last saw the ice with 4:43 remaining in regulation and the game tied 3-3. He did not play in overtime, which is one of his specialties. It must have been a tough decision for Bruce Cassidy not to play Krug in overtime, but the coach needs to be consistent in a case like this.



Krug is an important piece to the success of this team, and he’s loaded with pride, so sitting in a crucial situation probably didn’t go over well with the veteran. But, if Cassidy decided to play Krug in overtime and he made another costly mistake, the coach would have been upset with himself for going back on his decision.

The other side of that argument, of course, is what if Krug figured it out and made a positive impact in overtime and the Bruins finished with a win. Cassidy would then look good. But it’s all about consistency for a coach too.

Instead, Cassidy used Brandon Carlo, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk as the lone defenders in overtime. The game was decided in a shootout when Alex Ovechkin was the lone goal scorer to lead the Capitals to a 4-3 victory.

Rewind to the second period.

With the Bruins holding a 2-1 lead, Krug got turned around and was called for slashing after Capitals’ Jakub Vrana easily blew by the defenseman. That proved crucial because Washington’s struggling power play quickly came alive when Ovechkin scored at 14:07 to tie the game at 2-2.

After the game, Cassidy was asked to describe Krug’s game.

“Torey needs to be cleaner with the puck and have more pace in his game,” he said. “That’s what we feel and that’s when he’s at his best: when his gaps are good, he’s killing plays and helping the transition. Lately, the gap has been the issue a little bit for him for whatever reason.

"We’ve got to get him back up in the play, back being assertive, because he can’t sit back and be a real effective player. A defensive defenseman? That’s more (the other players') style. For him, he’s got to get up and start being more assertive with his feet.”

Krug was not available after the game, but his teammates understand games like this happen during the course of a season. Veteran David Backes is the type of teammate to help younger players in times like this, but what do you say to an older player?

“Torey’s a guy that when he’s on and feeling it, he’s got that swagger to him. He’s borderline cocky," Backes said. "He’s as good as it gets back there (when) he’s running the show and making plays up the ice. When there’s a bouncy puck, or he’s feeling a little pressure, maybe he doesn’t have that swagger. All of a sudden, the plays that he’s making all the time, maybe he’s a half-second slower and the window that he normally hitting isn’t there anymore.

“He’s a great player. He’ll be fine. It was just one of those nights. I didn’t even notice he had an off night. Guys aren’t going to be great every night, but when you’re not great you still need to be good and productive and find a way to contribute to a win.”

Maybe the continued development and success of Matt Grzelcyk, along with the pending return of Adam McQuaid to the lineup, has Krug pressing of late. The internal competition is real. He’s been around long enough and it’s a sure bet he’ll respond in a positive way. The Bruins need him to because he’s a leader on the off the ice.

It was an interesting decision by Cassidy to sit Krug. Again, assuming there’s no injury. But it sends a message to everyone on the team that the coach isn’t shy about holding a player back — even a proven veteran — if he’s not playing well and costing the team a possible victory.