Even in the wildest predictions, we’re willing to bet no one could have guessed that these Stanley Cup Playoffs would result in Torey Krug garnering comparisons to Bobby Orr.
Ridiculous as those comparisons may be, it should not take away from the fact that Krug has been absolutely phenomenal in the Stanley Cup Final for the Boston Bruins.
Playing Game 3 without offensive defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Krug picked up the slack, and produced the best night ever by a Bruins defenseman in a Cup Final game by registering four points.
Not even Bobby Orr did that. Krug also drew comparison to Orr earlier in the series when a photo of his massive check on Robert Thomas was put up side-by-side with the photo of Orr’s famous goal against the St. Louis Blues in 1970.
Krug wasn’t buying the comparisons then, and he pulled the humble card again after Game 3.
“I’d say probably ask me again in a week or so when you can really look back and take it all in,” Krug said, via BostonBruins.com’s Eric Russo. “But Bobby Orr is probably the greatest influencer in the game of hockey. You really can’t compare yourself in any way, shape, or form.
“I think it was just a night that everything went right,” Krug added. “Tried to be more decisive and assertive, getting pucks to the net after one or two passes. The fact that we knew that someone was gonna shoot the puck off of one or two passes, we allowed our guys to just get to the net in front of the goaltender’s eyes and recovered the puck if there’s a rebound to be had. Assertiveness and good decision making.”
Krug likely will never be in the same category as Orr, but he is climbing the ranks of American-born defensemen. Krug sits 15th among defensemen from the U.S. in career playoff points with 43 points in 53 games. He is fourth in points per game.
