The Bruins have been no stranger to the injury bug this season, with the likes of Jake DeBrusk, David Backes, Brett Ritchie, Kevan Miller and John Moore still currently on the shelf due to a myriad of injuries.
The results, especially as of late, have left a lot to be desired, but the Bruins have lucked out in some regards — with the key cogs that have primarily driven their offense able to avoid any time off the ice.
Well, until Sunday night.
On top of Boston’s disappointing shootout loss to the Flyers, the B’s exited the TD Garden ice without their power-play quarterback in Torey Krug, who left the contest with under two minutes remaining in regulation and did not return at all during the five-minute session of 3v3 overtime.
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Bruce Cassidy didn’t have much information postgame other than the fact that Krug was dealing with an upper-body injury, but added on Monday that at the very least, the 28-year-old skater will miss Tuesday’s home matchup against the Panthers.
“We’ll re-evaluate as the week goes on,” Cassidy said. “So we’re not taking him out of the equation this weekend. He was here. But again, until I get more — I’ve got nothing for ya.”
Even if it’s just for a few games, it’s a brutal hit for the slumping Bruins, who need to right the ship in short order before taking on the Maple Leafs and Capitals later this week.
With Krug out, the Bruins recalled Urho Vaakanainen from Providence, with the 20-year-old blueliner expected to fight for a starting spot with Steven Kampfer on Tuesday night.
After a strong training-camp showing last season, the Finnish skater has had a bit of a rougher go of it in 2019, as Vaakanainen has often has hit some bumps in the road when it comes to his development due to the North American style of hockey.
“I think early on he was getting stuck wide,” Cassidy said of Vaakanainen. “I don’t know if that’s a European-sized rink issue or the way they played over there, but that was an issue early on. Some goals again, he was getting beat to the middle … We’ve got to make sure that’s buttoned up. But moving the puck better, just more engaged in the game.”
For the time being, either Vaakanainen and Kampfer will be asked to log 5v5 minutes on Boston's third D pairing with Connor Clifton, while Matt Grzelcyk was slotted up to Krug's usual spot next to Brandon Carlo during Monday's skate.
But with Krug sidelined, what will the Bruins do to account for his absence on the man advantage?
As one of the conductors of Boston's adaptive and effective power play, Krug can do a bit of everything — whether it be operating with the puck at the blue line or carrying it down to the half wall in search of an effective seam pass.
When Krug has been out on the ice with the usual 5v4 suspects in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, the B's top power-play unit has been a buzzsaw — scoring 13 goals in 55:31 of ice time while generating a 30-2 edge in high-danger scoring chances (good for a Hi-Danger Chances For Rate / 60 minutes of 32.42.)
So far this season, Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak have only logged 45 seconds of power-play TOI together without Krug, during which Boston failed to generate a shot attempt.
Based on Monday's practice, it looks as though Matt Grzelcyk will get the first crack at the PP1 — a solid candidate given the BU product's ability to cover ground in a hurry and recover pucks before they skitter past the blue line.
It remains to be seen if Grzelcyk will serve a similar role as Krug, especially when it comes to operating down low and switching spots with the likes of Marchand. If Cassidy wants to keep things a bit more conservative with a new gear in place, Grzelcyk remains out at his usual spot on the blue line — with Boston instead relying on his to chase down loose pucks and funnel them back to the main playmakers — similar to what Danton Heinen does as the net-front option.
Grzelcyk has yet to log a single second of power-play ice time when Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak have all been on the ice together, but fared well in such a spot last season — with the Bruins scoring six power-play goals and holding a 16-2 edge in high-danger chances in the 30:43 of ice time in which Grzelcyk skated with that trio.
It may not be as effective as when No. 47 is leading things from the blue line, but with Pastrnak, Marchand and Bergeron still anchoring that unit, Boston's power play should still be lethal with Grzelcyk slotting in for the time being.
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