Ryan: On night where Bruins’ D corps, power play take another hit, Torey Krug twists knife

It was a sequence that Bruce Cassidy and the Bruins have seen countless times before - albeit under much more fortuitous circumstances.

Torey Krug, operating in his preferred domain on the power play, saw a tumbling biscuit skitter out to him near the Bruins’ blue line. 

The proverbial bull saw red. Instincts took over. 

“To be honest, it's tough to recollect that one," Krug said.

Without hesitating, Krug activated and scooped up the puck, evading Patrice Bergeron with a quick move and carving a lane right down the gut of the Bruins’ defensive structure.

As Derek Forbort knelt down in high-danger ice to try and absorb Krug’s offering, the crafty Blues skater shifted at the last moment, creating a clean lane and promptly snapping a puck over Jeremy Swayman’s shoulder. 

The familiar Garden goal horn did not blare over the speaker as Krug shook his fist in triumph. There was no chorus “Zombie Nation” to bookend another Krug power-play tally. 

But for Krug, it was a fitting stamp on his first game at Causeway Street in 766 days. 

And one hell of a way to celebrate your 31st birthday. 

"It was fun, obviously a lot of different emotions throughout the day and stuff,” Krug said following St. Louis’ 4-2 win over his former club. “It's been a while since I've been back here in the building, so it was capped off pretty nicely with a win for us."

A lot has changed since the last time Krug took to the Garden ice. 

Perhaps the zenith of his nine-year tenure in Boston — in which Krug, sans helmet, bowled over Robert Thomas in Game 1 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final — is muted some these days. After all, Krug and Thomas now share the same locker room, along with plenty of other names who played a hand in denying Krug and the Bruins championship glory close to three years ago.

But for Krug, Tuesday’s return to Boston wasn’t nearly as awkward or foreign as he initially feared, even if his blue-and-white sweater still stood in stark contrast to the garb that Bruins fans had become accustomed to seeing him in over the years.

Perhaps it was playing in such a familiar venue, with Krug knowing every fortuitous bounce off the Garden boards like the back of his hand. Or maybe some of those jitters were quelled by the fact that Krug had gone against the likes of Bergeron and Co. countless times before in practice.

"I've seen those guys kill penalties for a long, long time,” Krug said of slipping past Bergeron en route to his power-play tally. “I had a front-row seat to it for a while. So I knew their tendencies and things like that."

Whatever the case may be, Krug didn’t look like a player caught up in the moment when facing off against his former team. On the contrary, the former Bruin appeared hellbent on twisting the knife against a franchise that let him in walk in free agency two offseasons ago.

And while you can make a rather compelling argument that the Bruins made the right call in not locking in a 29-year-old defenseman to a seven-year contract — opting instead to divert capital to Charlie McAvoy and hand more responsibilities to other puck-movers like Matt Grzelcyk — Tuesday stood as rough timing for those already at peace with Krug’s departure.

While Krug served as an on-ice conduit for St. Louis’ power play, the Bruins’ man advantage continued to wilt, failing to cash in on either of their chances as part of a larger 6-for-48 skid.

Beyond his power-play prowess, Krug made his presence felt at 5v5 play, with the 5-foot-9 defenseman out-muscling Boston’s puck-possession weapon in Charlie Coyle out near St. Louis’ blue line — forcing the puck out of danger and jumpstarting a counter-rush that led to a Vladimir Tarasenko tally in the third period.  

Boston’s patchwork D corps never stood a chance on the Blues’ final goal of the evening, especially with Brandon Carlo — Krug’s tried-and-true partner over his final years with the B’s — standing as the latest regular to feel the sting of the injury bug. 

For many watching Tuesday’s contest (standing as Boston’s first back-to-back regulation losses in over two months), Krug’s O-zone talents and pushback were sorely missed on Boston’s roster. 

For Bruce Cassidy, Krug’s impact goes beyond the baseline numbers.

“I always enjoyed his personality," Cassidy said of Krug. "He's got plenty of confidence without being one of those arrogant guys. I think he has a sense of humor. So he could be a prankster. I think he found a willing guy to go back and forth with here. So I think that lightened up everybody. I think he did it at the appropriate times. I think he was great in the community. A guy that loves Boston, no doubt about that. And in the room, he'd speak his mind.

“I know myself, when I talked to him, whether it was a D meeting or power play, he had no problem telling me 'Hey, that's not what I saw.' And we'd hash it out and I appreciate that in a guy. Yet when the puck dropped, he was on board with whatever we're doing, he's in. As I said, I have a real affinity for Torey as a person and as a player.”

It’s always vital, in wake of a game like this, to see the forest for the trees. As painful as it is to see Krug land punches against the Bruins at TD Garden, that contract likely would have made things dicey for McAvoy’s big payday. Or perhaps prompted a Grzelcyk trade. And let’s face it, Hampus Lindholm likely isn’t here if Krug is holding court on the left side. 

Still, as rational as that thought is, the long-term outlook still doesn’t assuage the short-term pain of seeing a player like Krug thriving at this stage of his career — especially during a juncture of the season in which his talents could come in handy on this Bruins team.

Considering the reception Krug received during his first-period video tribute, it’s safe to assume that plenty in the Garden seats shared such a sentiment.  

“It was special,” Krug said. “A lot of great memories here and met a lot of great people. For me, coming back — I don't really know what to expect and how I'd feel, but the other guys did a good job making me feel comfortable tonight and kept everything light and then the tribute was great. I love these fans and I loved playing in front of them. So it meant a lot to me."