Torey Krug placed on IR with upper-body injury

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins announced on Friday afternoon that defenseman Torey Krug has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Krug sustained the injury on December 23 in Boston’s 7-3 win over the Washington Capitals.

Krug left Monday’s contest against Washington after being leveled on a hit by Capitals’ forward Tom Wilson in the second period. Krug had points in five of his previous six games (1-6—7) going into the home contest against the Capitals.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy said on Friday that Krug will be out of the lineup through Tuesday, December 31 at a minimum. The Bruins (22-7-9) are set to take on the New Jersey Devils on the last day of 2019 at New Jersey’s Prudential Center in Newark.

That means that Krug will miss at least Friday’s contest in Buffalo against the Sabres (17-14-7), who sit at fifth in the Atlantic Division.

Krug has appeared in 33 of the team’s 38 games this season, missing five games in November after sustaining another upper-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 10. The team also placed Krug on IR during that nearly two-week-long absence.

In Krug’s return to the Bruins lineup on November 23, the defenseman scored the game-winner against the Minnesota Wild in overtime.

In Krug’s place, the Bruins recalled defenseman Steven Kampfer from AHL Providence on Friday. Kampfer has appeared in four games for Boston this season; he has yet to record an NHL point in 2019-20.

The Bruins will also be without defenseman Charlie McAvoy for Friday’s contest against the Sabres. McAvoy was removed from Monday’s game against Washington after taking a big hit from the Capitals’ T.J. Oshie.

McAvoy is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and did not travel with the team to Buffalo.

The Bruins take on the Sabres Friday night at 7 p.m. at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.

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