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How Torey Krug exemplified championship discipline
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Torey Krug has the Bruins buzzing over his highlight reel hit.
During the third period with the Boston Bruins leading the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on the heels of Sean Kuraly’s go-ahead goal, Krug lined Robert Thomas up for a pinpoint collision.
As Thomas broke out of the defensive zone, he picked his head up briefly to see a helmet-less Krug barreling down the ice at full speed. By then it was too late.
“He didn’t have his helmet on so he wanted to make sure that he made the highlights with that hit,” Tuukka Rask said about Krug’s monster collision following Boston’s 4-2 win in Game 1.
Krug’s proverbial earth-shattering hit on Thomas already made its way into Bruins lore with comparisons to the ‘flying Orr.’
The former Michigan State Spartan exchanged pleasantries with Blues forward David Perron as the two were tangled up in front of Rask. Perron actually got the better licks in as he threw Krug to the ice — knocking his helmet off in the process — before skating back to the St. Louis bench.
Krug, enraged from Perron’s jabs, stood back up and sprinted down the ice looking for blood with his hair flowing in the wind. At first, it looked like he wanted revenge on Perron. But a split second decision of letting Perron go resulted in a positive and impactful outcome moments later.
In a swift change, Krug channeled all of his anger and momentum into one of the biggest hits of his career. And Thomas just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Had a chance to make a hockey hit, turned out to be a good one,” Krug said. “I’m just glad I got a haircut.”
“That gave me some goosebumps,” former Blues captain David Backes said. “He’s battling in our zone — I don’t know what kind of twister game they were playing in front of our net. But I was hoping we would change and he doesn’t have a helmet on, but he goes right up the ice and lays a big hit. He thinks he’s playing thirty, forty years ago. That was an exchange, I think that was Torey Krug establishing himself in this series. And that was from my perspective a big boost.”
This play exemplified Boston’s championship level of character and discipline that brought them to this point. The unselfish roster has a collective goal in mind bigger than any individual.
Krug could’ve responded to Perron if he wanted to, yet that wasn’t what was best for the team. Imagine if he did, look for Perron for a second. The sixth-year blue-liner would’ve made his way to the box, thus giving the Blues a power play at a pivotal juncture.
The Bruins aren’t like other teams, however. Every member of the roster works in unison for the betterment of the team. And now they’re three wins away from hoisting their second Stanley Cup in eight seasons.
