The Boston Bruins’ defense is crippled by an outbreak of injuries to its core, top-six players. It started with Torey Krug going down in Game 81 of the regular season. Then, Brandon Carlo took a hit from Alex Ovechkin that knocked him out of the season finale.
Neither skater is expected to play in Game 4. But Krug is the biggest loss. His ability to carry the puck out of the Bruins zone and jump-start the offense is irreplaceable. And his tape-to-tape outlet passes would help break the trap Ottawa plays. Even the power play (2-for-10) is suffering without Krug directing traffic from the point.