Bruins will miss an injured Torey Krug on power play, but Matt Grzelcyk is a more-than-suitable solution for now

There are very few defensemen that can consistently execute during 5v4 play quite like Torey Krug.

A gifted playmaker with a cannon of a shot, Krug has established himself as one of the premier power-play quarterbacks in the NHL. Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, there have only been four defensemen (John Carlson, Keith Yandle, Brent Burns and Tyson Barrie) that have logged more power-play ice time that Krug (733:45). 

Only Carlson has more points among D-men during that stretch, while Krug (82 total points) leads all blueliners (min. 500 minutes of 5v4 TOI) with an individual points per 60 minutes rate of 6.71.

Given Krug’s ability to both operate the puck up high and move down to the half wall in search of seam passes through the slot, it should come as no surprise that Boston’s man-advantage has paced the pack over the last few seasons when it comes to cashing in on quality chances.

But what happens when one of Boston’s key cogs on the power play is taken out of the equation?

It’s a scenario that Bruce Cassidy and his club have faced a number of times, given the beating that the 5-foot-9 Krug takes on a regular basis during a grueling NHL campaign. 

Such was the case again on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, when Boston was tasked with slowing down a red-hot Flyers team without Krug and Brandon Carlo — both lost for now due to upper-body injuries. 

Of course, Boston’s power play still has plenty of bite with the likes of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron operating at their respective spots at the left circle, half wall and bumper. 

But if the B’s PP1 unit wants to operate at full strength, it needs at least some form of a stopgap when it comes to a fleet-footed defenseman capable of extending O-zone possessions and serving as a reliable “low-to-high” option.

Thankfully for Cassidy and the Bruins, they don’t have to look very far down the roster to find suitable candidates on the games in which Krug isn’t given the green light.



They might be similar in size, but Matt Grzelcyk brings a different type of dynamic than Krug when handed valuable minutes on the power play. He may not be as dynamic as Krug when it comes to operating in danger areas, but the Charlestown native's quick feet and lauded hockey IQ make him a valuable cog when gifted those 5v4 reps, especially when he's given shifts with the big guns such as Pastrnak, Bergeron and Marchand.

"He’s not Torey yet, offensively," Cassidy said of Grzelcyk's power-play potential back in November. "Is there a chance down the road he could be? We’re all hoping that. But he certainly has the ability to get up the ice and make plays. We’ve seen that with Grizz. He made a great play to Coyle the other night, a back-door tap-in, that just hopped over Charlie’s stick. That’s a Krug-like play. So far on the power play, he’s done what he’s asked to do, which is direct it to those two elbow guys, help on the entries. … He’s bringing some of what Torey brings, for sure, right now.”

Grzelcyk certainly fit the billing as a special-teams ace during Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Flyers. While most of the credit for Boston's regulation win deservedly goes to a shutout showing from Tuukka Rask in net, the B's managed to land a punch against Carter Hart down the other end of the ice thanks to a power-play goal from Grzelcyk — just the second of his NHL career.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237537484642209793

The tally — opening the scoring for either side at 18:39 in the second — might have been generated off of a simple triangle passing sequence between David Krejci, Pastrnak and Grzelcyk out from the point, but it was far from the only chance Boston managed to produce during Grzelcyk's 3:01 of 5v4 ice time, which was tops among all B's defensemen.

In total, the Bruins held a 6-1 edge in shot attempts and a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal during that stretch in which Grzelcyk was out on the ice. Yes, he may not necessarily be as assertive as Krug when it comes to bringing the puck down low, but there's plenty of value in Grzelcyk's ability to simply keep the puck alive and allow Boston's top weapons to continue to pick apart the opposing PK units — as seen down below.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1237549378568515586

Even if Grzelcyk's special-teams play revolves more keeping things simple with the puck — the manner in which Boston generates quality looks matters little, so long as the B's are scoring. And the numbers are actually quite encouraging whenever Grzelcyk has been given the keys to that top power-play unit.

So far this season, Krug has logged 179:07 of power-play ice time with Pastrnak, Bergeron and Marchand. During that stretch:

Boston has out-scored opponents, 35-6.
Out-shot opponents, 202-35.
Generated 88 high-danger scoring chances.
Surrendered seven high-danger scoring chances. 

In total, those 35 goals scored over 179:07 of ice time equates to a goals scored per 60 minutes rate of 11.72. Pretty impressive stuff.

Meanwhile, Grzelcyk has only logged 24:51 of 5v4 ice time with Pastrnak, Bergeron and Marchand. But during that stretch, the numbers are also pretty encouraging:

Boston has out-scored opponents, 5-0.
Out-shot opponents, 22-6.
Generated 10 high-danger scoring chances.
Surrendered three high-danger scoring chances. 

In total, those five goals scored over 24:51 of ice time equates to a goals scored per 60 minutes rate of 12.07 — even better than the totals generated by the usual top power-play grouping, even if the latter might lag a bit in terms of consistently generating quality chances. 

When Krug returns from his current ailment, the keys to the power play will deservedly be handed back to him. But, whether it be further down the road or in the unfortunate chance of additional injuries, the Bruins should be able to sleep easier at night knowing they have another effective D-man capable of contributing on their top offensive grouping.