BSJ Game Report: Blues 4, Bruins 2 - Krug scores, Carlo injured as Bruins drop another game in regulation

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-2 loss to the Blues, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Krug exacts revenge on Garden ice: For the first time since March 7, 2020, Torey Krug took to the TD Garden ice, logging reps as a visitor in the Bruins' barn after signing with the St. Louis Blues back in the fall of 2020. 

And after an unceremonious end to his tenure in Boston, Krug sure seemed ready to show his former club that he has a bit more left in the tank. The puck-moving blueliner — celebrating his 31st birthday — made his presence felt all over the ice on Tuesday, helping the Blues post a 4-2 victory on Causeway Street.

For the banged-up Bruins, Tuesday’s loss stands as the first time that they’ve dropped back-to-back contests in regulation since February 8-10, 2022. 

In a far-from-shocking development, Krug did his damage on the power play Tuesday, sneaking past Patrice Bergeron and wristing a puck past Jeremy Swayman from the slot to tie things up, 2-2, in the closing minutes of the second period.

It could have been a multi-goal night for Krug, who had a potential 5v5 tally taken off the board in the first period after Boston challenged for offside. But his strike on the man advantage was enough to shift the momentum back to St. Louis in this matchup, with Vladimir Tarasenko finding twine just 3:02 later to give St. Louis the lead for good.

You can debate the merit of letting Krug walk and not locking in a player at his age to a long-term deal. And even though Boston’s D corps is currently feeling the sting of the injury bug, the B’s do have some personnel in place to replicate Krug’s talents.

Still, a game like Tuesday shows that the hard-nosed, skilled blueliner can still make a sizable impact out there on the ice. 

Bruins lose yet another blueliner in Carlo: Of course, at this point of the season, the Bruins should be more concerned about the state of their roster and their health — rather than waste time looking at the standings. 

As such, while another regulation loss stands as a tough pill to swallow, the most concerning takeaway from this game has to be the status of Brandon Carlo — who exited the game midway through the first period and did not return.

Postgame, Bruce Cassidy didn’t have a lot of information on Carlo’s exit, other than it was due to injury, rather than illness.

In the span of just over a week, the B’s have seen their depth chart completely decimated — with David Pastrnak (undisclosed), Hampus Lindholm (lower-body) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper-body) all joining Carlo on the shelf. 

With Carlo limited to just 4:48 of ice time on Tuesday, an already taxed Bruins’ D corps was further spent, with blueliners like Derek Forbort (22:00), Connor Clifton (21:34) and Josh Brown (19:39) completely overexerted, given what should more sheltered assignments further down the lineup.

If Carlo is going to miss time moving forward, the Bruin's already thin depth chart is going to be really put on the ropes — with names like Jack Ahcan and Tyler Lewington standing as the next men up.

 Not … exactly the personnel you want out there, especially with the postseason just a few weeks away. 

THREE UP

Patrice Bergeron: Ho hum, another 20-goal season for Bergeron — the 13th of his career. After David Perron scored on the Blues’ first shot of the game just 34 seconds in, Bergeron helped the B’s steer momentum back on their side, burying the equalizer just 15 seconds later. 

For Bergeron, it was his ninth career goal scored in the opening minute of play, tying him with Ray Bourque for the most in Bruins franchise history.

Marc McLaughlin: The kid from Billerica can really rip it, eh? McLaughlin might just be a temporary stopgap on this second line until David Pastrnak is cleared to return, but the local product continues to contribute thanks to that sneaky shot. Even when Pastrnak gets the green light to play again, McLaughlin could be in play as a fourth-line contributor, especially given his finishing ability. 

Fourth line: For the second game in a row, the checking line of Nick Foligno, Tomas Nosek and Curtis Lazar put together a strong game — extending O-zone possessions with a simple, physical brand of hockey. The only issue, of course, is that the Bruins weren’t able to convert on the number of quality chances that the line was able to generate, with Nosek continuing to be snakebit in Grade-A ice. 

THREE DOWN

Trent Frederic: Quite the tough look from Frederic in this one. Seeks out Tarasenko in a scrum, gets knocked around — and then is the lone guy sent to the sin bin. And, of course, Krug scores the equalizer on the power play shortly thereafter. Frederic’s been struggling a bit since his brief time on the shelf due to an upper-body injury. 

When asked about his disappointment level in Frederic’s infraction, Cassidy was blunt: “Very high.”

Power play: Boston’s power-play woes continued on Tuesday, with the B’s failing to cash in on their two bids against the Blues. Yes, Pastrnak’s presence is sorely missed, but Boston has way too much talent remaining on that unit to trudge through this current 6-for-48 skid, including an 0-for-18 drought. 

Puck management: Yes, the Bruins were without a hefty chunk of their D corps and their top goalscorer, but those holes on the depth chart don’t absolve the B’s poor decision-making with the puck — which made things far too easy for St. Louis all night long. 

Be it a poor turnover from Brad Marchand that led to Tarasenko’s go-ahead goal in the second, or Charlie Coyle coughing up the puck at the Blues’ blue line ahead of Tarasenko’s second tally in the following frame, you’re not going to win a lot of games — shorthanded or not — by making things easy for the opposition.

"It's just really not intelligent hockey,” Cassidy said, adding: “We've got to be smarter, plain and simple."

PLAY OF THE GAME 

LOOSE PUCKS 

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their three-game homestand on Thursday with a matchup against the Ottawa Senators. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.