Boston Bruins defenceman Torey Krug will not be called for a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety following his crushing check to Montreal Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw on Monday, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.
Player safety reviewed the play, for which Krug was not penalized, and determined that Shaw had placed himself in a vulnerable position by lunging low in effort to reach for a loose puck at centre ice.
“I was just going for the puck and I assumed Andrew Shaw was going to hit me,” Krug explained. “I saw him, I knew who it was, and I just assumed he was going to play the body because he’s a physical player.”
Bruins coach Claude Julien called it “a good hit,” but Montreal coach Michel Therrien disagreed.
Watch the play:
“I thought Shawsy was in a vulnerable position, and he got hit to the head,” said Therrien. “I don’t like the hit.”
In response to the check, Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher challenged Krug to a fight one shift later.
“You saw a lot of hitting tonight, a lot of borderline hits — something we hadn’t seen between these two teams for a while,” Julien said. “The fans seemed to love it, so we’ll try to stay within the rules and create some exciting games between the two teams.”
The Bruins won the game 2-1 in overtime. The teams next square off Feb. 12 in Boston. Save the date.
