Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Bruins’ Torey Krug sidelined three weeks with ankle injury

Florida Panthers v Boston Bruins

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 24: Torey Krug #47 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the third period against the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on March 24, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Panthers defeat the Bruins 4-1. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The one thing NHL teams do not want to see in the preseason is injuries to established players. This preseason has been especially costly for teams as Anaheim’s Corey Perry and Columbus’ Seth Jones are just a couple of the players to be sidelined for the start of the season.

On Monday we found out another name that can be added to that list as the Boston Bruins announced defenseman Torey Krug will be sidelined for at least three weeks due to a left ankle injury that he suffered in Saturday’s preseason game.

According to general manager Don Sweeney, this injury is unrelated to the fractured ankle he suffered in the playoffs this past season.

Krug’s absence will be a big blow to the Bruins’ blue line over the first month of the season as he has emerged as one of their top players and one of the most productive defenders in the league, having topped the 50-point mark in each of the past two seasons. He finished the 2017-18 season among the top-15 among the league’s defenders in goals (14) and total points (59). Along with that he was also the Bruins’ fourth-leading scorer, trailing only their big three forwards Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.

Sweeney said that Krug will be evaluated again in three weeks.

With Krug sidelined this means the Bruins will need to rely even more on veteran Zdeno Chara and their young star, Charlie McAvoy. Chara isn’t as dominant as he once was but he is still a really good player, while McAvoy is quickly developing into a legitimate top-pairing defender. Still, for as good as they are Krug brings an element offensively that is, at this point, just a touch above what the others can do.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.