With Torey Krug & Charlie McAvoy injured, a potential lockdown D pairing will get an extended look

The Bruins might have had three days off as part of the NHL’s holiday break, but Bruce Cassidy’s club is in much worse shape than we last saw it on Monday night against the Capitals. 

After getting knocked around on heavy hits from both Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie during Monday’s slugfest against Washington, both Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy will not play in Friday’s matchup against the Sabres, according to Cassidy.

While McAvoy’s status should become a bit clearer this weekend, Krug is expected to miss three games at the minimum, with the puck-moving defenseman placed on IR due to an upper-body injury. Neither McAvoy or Krug had to enter the concussion protocol.

"He’ll be day to day,” Cassidy said of McAvoy. “Didn’t travel today. Will skate tomorrow, so we’ll get a look ... see if he’s ready to get back into it with us or not. … That’s where he’s at right now. Krug is obviously out, until (New) Jersey (on Dec. 31), I believe — minimum. We’ll miss those guys, but that’s where they’re at.”

With both skaters out, Steven Kampfer has been recalled from Providence and will skate with John Moore, while Zdeno Chara is back in the lineup after missing Monday’s matchup after undergoing a procedure on his jaw. 

Here’s a look at Boston’s blue line for Friday’s matchup:

Chara - Carlo
Grzelcyk - Clifton
Moore - Kampfer

Here are a couple of takeaways from Boston’s latest string of injuries:

Boston still has a lockdown top D pairing

While the loss of both Krug/McAvoy hampers Boston’s blue line when it comes to its transition game, Cassidy still has the luxury of deploying an effective top D pairing that will likely be given the lion’s share of minutes against Jack Eichel and Co. on Friday.

For this matchup against Buffalo, Cassidy will opt for



Brandon Carlo on the top D pair next to Chara — reuniting a duo that was Boston’s go-to duo during Carlo’s rookie season back in 2016-17.

This season, Chara + Carlo’s minutes together have started to tick up even before this latest stretch of injuries — and the results have been awfully impressive. Even though just 26.0% of a Chara-Carlo pairing’s faceoffs have come in the offensive zone, the Bruins still have a 7-1 edge in 5v5 goals and an 18-14 advantage in high-danger scoring chances during their 114:49 of 5v5 TOI together.

That 0.52 goals against per 60 minutes of 5v5 play ranks first among all Bruins D pairs that have logged at least 100 minutes of 5v5 TOI this year.

If this duo continues to lock down down the opposition, perhaps we could look at some additional reshuffling on the blue line when more injured bodies are cleared to return, especially given how dynamic McAvoy has looked this season when paired with Krug.

In 98:27 of 5v5 TOI, the Bruins have generated a 10-5 edge in goals scored and a plus-56 differential in shot attempts when McAvoy is given reps next to Krug.

Grzelcyk given keys to power play

With Krug and McAvoy out, Boston’s man advantage is going to be overhauled on the blue line, with Matt Grzelcyk given the keys to Krug’s usual spot on the PP1 unit. 

While Grzelcyk may not be as active as Krug during 5v4 play, namely when it comes to operating down at the half wall, Grzelcyk’s quick feet and strong hockey IQ make him an effective weapon on the power play — especially when it comes to tracking down loose pucks and preventing them from skittering past the blue line.

It’s hard to overlook the level of production generated when Krug has skated with the usual suspects on PP1 in Davd Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron — with Boston holding a 19-2 edge in goals over 91:22 of power-play TOI. 

But in 11:40 of 5v4 TOI with Pastrnak, Marchand and Bergeron, Grzelcyk has also fared well. Boston holds a 17-0 edge in scoring chances and a 3-0 advantage in goals during that stretch, with a goals for per 60 min. rate of 15.43 greater the GF/60 rate generated by that same PP1 group with Krug back in the fold (12.48).

Krug’s loss is still a major hit on this Bruins’ team, but with Grzelcyk standing as a more than suitable replacement, Boston’s power play should be far from rudderless over the next couple of games.