Will Torey Krug’s bone-jarring hit in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final be the spark that lights an inferno of passionate hockey for the next two weeks? Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy won’t go that far, but he’d like his young defenseman to keep his head up in Game 2, just in case.
Krug and the Bruins opened the Cup Final on Monday night with a 4-2 win that was highlighted by his crushing check of St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas. Should the Bruins go on to win the Stanley Cup, the hit surely will become a lasting image of the series, especially given the helmetless Krug flying through the air with his hair blowing in the wind.
The Blues are a big, physical team, and it’s likely they’ll want to set some sort of tone Wednesday night in Game 2, but Cassidy said he doesn’t expect the Blues to target Krug.
“No, they’re a pretty honest team, St. Louis. I think they’ll finish all their checks whether it’s No. 47 (Krug) or (Matt) Grzelcyk or (Connor) Clifton,” Cassidy said Wednesday at his morning skate press conference. “They’re going to play hard. We expect that, so I don’t expect retaliation. If Torey’s in a bad spot — puts himself in a bad spot — they’re going to hit him. I think that’s what’s gonna happen.”
With a couple of days to digest the play and all that happened in Game 1, Cassidy went on to say he was pleased with a lack of penalty on the play that actually began 180 feet away when Krug and David Perron tangled in front of the Bruins net.
“I thought it was a bit of a wrestling match at one end, and they let it go — which I agreed with,” Cassidy added. “I think it didn’t have a big effect on the play. Two guys kind of going at it, it happens probably every series. (They could have) I guess blown the whistle, thrown them both in the box, that’s their call. Then he came up the ice, stayed in the play, and the hit basically presented itself. I think he was going up the ice to keep the puck alive by the looks of things from what I saw, and then all of a sudden, it finds him and he finds himself in a position to deliver a big hit. It just ends up being one of those moments that people are talking about.
“Honestly, it was because his helmet was off — if his helmet wasn’t off, are we talking about it? It’s a hit that happens a lot in physical series. We saw that in Columbus, probably 10 times at least those big hits. But again, it’s a bit of an iconic moment because the hair is flying and the way he fell. It’s good for hockey I think if they’re talked about positively and if not, well, it goes the other way.”
The puck drops on Game 2 at TD Garden on Wednesday night just after 8 p.m. ET.
