It wasn't a very pretty game, but the Bruins showed a little bit of character in Tuesday night's battle against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Boston despite losing 5-3 in the bout.
But they were without Adam McQuaid, they sat Tim Thomas to give him some rest, and they had a rookie defenseman, Torey Krug step up and play the third most ice time of all the defensemen for the Bruins.
The kid was at Michigan State just two weeks ago.
Krug picked up just over 18 minutes of playing time, more than what he probably was expected to have, but when defenseman Johnny Boychuk went down in the third period, with a knee-to-knee hit, Krug was put into a position that not too many 5'9 20-year-old defenseman are put into.
Trying to defend Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
"Yeah, I mean like I said I don’t even know if it’s hit me yet," Krug said. "It’s awesome I’ve come in – it’s a tough time to come into a locker room but all the guys have been very well receptive and I’m very thankful for that.
"Yeah it was great, getting up and down the ice, the one main difference here is every player can make a play and there’s no shifts off and that’s the biggest difference."
While there is no timetable on Boychuk's return, and with McQuaid still out with a swollen eye, there could be a chance that Krug can see a little bit more action this season.
END OF THE ROAD FOR TURCO
It seems like just yesterday Marty Turco entered TD Garden after being signed by the Bruins. He came in on March 5 to replace the injured Tuukka Rask, and give Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas a break heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
While he didn't have all of the results he was hoping to get, he spoke to the media after his first start in Boston, and what could be his last start as well. Turco is not eligible for the playoffs because he was signed after the trade deadline.
"It’s been tremendous, really. I’ve been around for a bit; can’t say that disappointments have been much a part of my time here," Turco said after his 5-3 loss last night. "I’ve been fortunate to have an opportunity and I’m truly grateful, for my family and I, for [what] the Boston Bruins gave me when things seemed pretty bleak. You want to play great and you want to show them, never mind anyone else, and for the most part – days, game and practice, and being a good team man – I’ve felt pretty proud of my time here so far. Between Tampa and a little bit tonight, those two games – part of them anyway – are pretty disappointing but at the end of the day I’ll continue to hold my head high like I have all year to be ready in this position and still want to play some. So, we’ll see what happens."
SEVENTH HEAVEN FOR SEGUIN
Before last night's game at TD Garden, NESN.com announced it's "7th Player Award" which goes to a player that "exceeds their expectations" in a season. While there were a couple of very worthy candidates, Seguin came out on top and took home a nice Mazda car and trophy and has $5,000 to donate to a charity of his choice.
Seguin has 27 goals this season and 65 points total--that's best for points and he's tied for first in goals.
"It felt good. I’m very humbled and honored to be accepting that award, and obviously there’s a lot of guys that could have got it," Seguin said. "One that especially comes to mind is Chris Kelly. I thought he definitely deserved that award as well, but I’m very honored in accepting it."
UP NEXT:
The B's only have two regular season games left and they will travel to Ottawa for one of them on Thursday night. After that, they will come back to Boston for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday against the Sabres to close out the 82-game season.
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