Torey Krug has become pretty adept when it comes to rolling with the punches — both on and off the ice.
A sparkplug who's at his best when gliding along the tightrope that is the opposing blue line, Krug has been one of the most productive defensemen in the NHL when it comes to capitalizing in the O-zone, averaging close to 48 points per season over his last six campaigns.
Limited to just 64 games this year due to injuries, Krug still managed to generate 53 points, just seven shy of becoming just the sixth defenseman in Bruins franchise history to post a 60-point campaign — joining Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Brad Park, Carol Vadnais and Mike O’Connell.
Still, Krug often finds the shortcomings in his game singled out far more than his contributions, with the blue liner’s smaller frame (5-foot-9, 186 pounds) often harped on when it comes to his ability (or lack thereof, according to his critics) to put out fires in Boston’s own zone or tie up skaters looking to get past him.
The badgering in print or online might be one thing, but it doesn’t really get much easier for the 28-year-old skater when on the ice, either. The NHL’s constantly-changing landscape has allowed Boston to thrive with three of its six starting defensemen under 6 feet (Krug, Matt Grzelcyk, Connor Clifton). Still, it hasn’t stopped teams from using Krug’s size against him when it comes to battles down low or along the boards, often targeting him once a puck is flipped into the D-zone.
It comes with the territory at this point for Krug, but sooner or later, those chirps, checks and shoves begin to add up.
“It’s interesting,” Krug said of what life is like as a smaller NHL defenseman. “Every day, you’ve got something new on your plate. You always have a target on your back — you always have to prove people wrong. Even when you’re at the top of your game and you’re feeling like you are where you want to be, there’s always people that doubt you. It’s going to continue, and you welcome that and try to embrace it and use it as fuel.”
On Monday night, Krug finally had enough.
Just minutes prior, Sean Kuraly gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, with Boston looking to create some breathing room with a little over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
Four of Boston’s skaters were looking to land the knockout punch against Jordan Binnington and the Blues, but Krug was mired in Boston’s slot down the other end of the sheet — tangled up with St. Louis winger David Perron after a lengthy exchange of slashes and shoves in front of Tuukka Rask.
What began as a regular chippy exchange soon devolved into a one-man pig-pile, with Perron smothering Krug while ripping the bucket off of his head. Fair to say, Krug was less than thrilled.
“You don’t want to mess with that guy,” Clifton said of Krug. “Don’t make that guy mad.”
Krug may not be the most imposing presence on Boston’s blue line, but 5-foot-9 and 186 pounds can still do quite a bit of damage — as Robert Thomas soon found out.
Upon being freed from Perron’s hold, Krug did his best impression of a heat-seeking missile, racing 180 feet down the ice — sans helmet — in an effort to settle the score with next closest warm body draped in blue and white.
With Perron back on the friendly confines of the Blues’ bench, it was Thomas that drew the short straw when it comes to bearing the brunt of Krug’s wrath, with the B’s defenseman leveling the forward with a bone-crushing hit in St. Louis’ zone.
The most Bruins sequence of all time
(? @HeresYourReplay) pic.twitter.com/EjfsUZRYit
— Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) May 28, 2019
TD Garden was shaking after that hit by Krug. pic.twitter.com/2DybOE5Bck
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 28, 2019