BOSTON -- Bruins coach Claude Julien seemed genuinely shocked when a reporter asked how Torey Krug played in his return to the lineup for Monday’s 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden.
Despite missing the past four games with a broken pinky finger on his left hand, Krug showed no ill effects and still logged 21:16 of ice time during Monday’s victory.
“Good, for a guy in his first game back,” Julien said. “He’s been out for a while, but he came in and did his job. Obviously, he’s not 100 percent with his situation, but he seems to be handling the puck well. Maybe he didn’t get that many shots on net tonight, but still I thought he was a good player.”
Krug said his finger wasn’t an issue during the game and he never thought about it.
"Yeah, I didn’t notice it,” he said. “It’s always a good thing when you’re not thinking about it. That
was kind of what I was trying to do before to make sure I was comfortable with it and not thinking about my hand. It was good. I felt good out there.”
Krug was partnered with Zach Trotman on the team’s third defensive pairing. Since defenseman David Warsofsky suffered a groin injury last Thursday and will be out a few weeks, Krug’s return meant fellow blueliner Matt Bartkowski was a healthy scratch for the fifth consecutive game.
