The Boston Bruins have taken a big blow just prior to the regular season as the team announced this morning that defenseman Torey Krug has a broken jaw and will be out for at least three weeks.
In Tuesday’s preseason home opener, Krug was hit in the jaw with a puck, forcing him to leave the game. The Bruins have described his injury as a “non-displaced fracture” in his jaw.
The 26 year old defenseman will miss the rest of the preseason, as well as the team’s first three regular season games.
The Bruins open the season against the reigning Western Conference Champion Nashville Predators, followed by two matchups with the Colorado Avalanche.
Krug is coming off the best offensive season of his career which saw him score 8 goals to go along with 51 points.
He only missed a single regular season game last year, but his 2016-2017 campaign came to an end because of a knee injury. The injury means Adam McQuaid will likely take on a larger role while Krug misses time. Additionally, well hyped rookie Charlie McAvoy may end up seeing additional minutes.
The loss of Krug also leaves Zdeno Chara as the only left handed defenseman remaining on the Bruins roster and will be hoping for strong preseason play from either Matt Grzelcyk or Jakub Zboril who are the top lefty candidates to be called up.
Krug will be re-evaluated in three weeks before potentially returning to the team on October 12th.
