This is how the Boston Bruins will have to win for the time being.
Boston won a grimy, ugly game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday at TD Garden, as Sean Kuraly wedged home a goal with 10 minutes remaining in the game to give the Bruins a 2-1 win.
After the barrage of injuries that have hit the B’s forwards, Boston will have to rely on youthful forwards, a hard-nosed defense and Tuukka Rask in order to rack up the wins.
The B’s got bad news early in the week when it was announced that David Backes would miss at least a few months after undergoing surgery on his colon due to diverticulitis. Â Add Backes to a list that already includes Ryan Spooner (groin) and David Krejci (back), who both are on the shelf for the foreseeable future.
Due to the rash of injuries that have hit Boston’s offensive playmakers, the Bruins have yet to play a game with their entire lineup intact, and they have only played one game with both Krejci and Patrice Bergeron on the ice.
In the absence of Backes, Spooner and Krejci, Boston will rely on Kuraly, Riley Nash and Jordan Szwarz, among others to pick up the slack behind Bergeron.
With a glut of youth and inexperience, the Bruins will play in a lot of ugly games in which they lean on Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy and Co. in the backend, along with Rask.
Thursday night showed Boston the blueprint for how to win while they wait to get healthy.
It won’t be pretty, but it will have to do.
Here are more notes from Bruins-Golden Knights:
— Rask saved 26 of 27 shots in Thursday’s win.
— Frank Vatrano (scratched) and Anton Khudobin (lower body injury) also missed the win over the Golden Knights.
— Boston’s penalty kill was brilliant against Vegas, as the B’s killed off all three of the Golden Knight’s power plays, including one with four minutes to play in the third period.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
