Boston Bruins: Will Torey Krug be back on Monday?

Oct 11, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman

(47) passes the puck against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins(9-6-0) have had some incredibly bad luck when it comes to their defensemen as of late. B’s captain Zdeno Chara is likely out for the rest of the month of November. There is still no timetable on the return of Kevan Miller. David Warsofsky was hurt earlier in the week, and the Bruins haven’t given the fans any information other than he’ll be out for a while. If it wasn’t for the seriously deep depth of defensemen the Bruins have in their Boston and AHL Providence clubs, the Black and Gold’s record could look like the Buffalo Sabres or the Edmonton Oilers.

Torey Krug is also on the list of injured players. He received a slash to his left hand while playing the Minnesota Wild just before Halloween. That slash tore open his pinky and the gruesome damage was all over social media. At the time, the Bruins medical staff estimated that Krug would be out for two weeks. Yesterday, Torey Krug was cleared to practice for the first time since the injury.

“It was pretty bad,” acknowledged Krug. “I mean, it’s a freak accident, you know. You get slashed all the time, and it caught me in the perfect spot. It’s not a good feeling – obviously you could see my reaction on the ice, but it’s alright. It’s feeling good, feeling better and hopefully I’ll be back soon.”

Krug was in a gold second-line jersey for the practice. It wasn’t because Claude Julien had a radical new idea for Krug, but Patrice Bergeron had requested a maintenance day. The hole made in the roster by Bergeron’s absence gave Krug a chance to skate.

Krug has missed five games due to the injury, but he might be healed enough to return to action on Monday when the Bruins take on the New Jersey Devils. Monday will be their last game in a four game home stretch. The Bruins have won their last three games at home with commanding wins over the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers, and an OT win over the Florida Panthers.

“I don’t know,” said Krug about being in the line up against New Jersey. “I mean it’s one of the things that I’ll talk to the medical staff and the coaches will make a decision and we’ll see. You know, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“We’ll see,” said Coach Julien, mirroring Krug’s opinion. “Again, I can’t stand here and talk about whether he’ll be in. Game’s not till Monday and we’ll see how he is. [Friday] was his first day at practice, and if he’s given the OK by the medical staff, I’ll be more than happy to put him in. But I haven’t been given the OK yet. I keep saying that – I don’t anticipate anything until somebody tells me something.”