Bruins place Torey Krug on injured reserve with upper-body injury

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Bruins fans hoping that the team’s next announcement about Torey Krug would be a contract extension will be disappointed Friday morning.

Boston announced that the defenseman was placed on injured reserve because of an upper-body injury suffered against the Washington Capitals on Monday, the Bruins’ last game before the three-day NHL Christmas break.

On a night that featured several questionable hits by the Capitals, Krug was injured on one that was heavy, but clean from Capitals forward Tom Wilson on the defenseman’s second shift of the second period of Boston’s 7-3 win.

Torey Krug takes a heavy hit from Tom Wilson and heads down the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/P2ra99HjiD

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) December 24, 2019

While on injured reserve, Krug must sit out at least seven days, retroactive to Monday.

The Bruins called up defenseman Steven Kampfer on an emergency basis from Providence of the American Hockey League on Friday morning for their trip to Buffalo for a game Friday night. The hope, hope, is that the 31-year-old won’t have to play. Zdeno Chara is expected to be able to return after missing one game to have a follow-up procedure done on his jaw, and John Moore, who replaced Chara against the Capitals, could just remain in Boston’s lineup.

If Chara can’t go, that would force Kampfer into action.

Look for Matt Grzelcyk to fill in for Krug on the Bruins’ first power play.

Krug is fifth on the Bruins, and first among Boston defensemen, with 26 points (five goals, 21 assists). He missed five games in November with an upper-body injury. He’s in the last year of a four-year contract with an average annual value of $5.25 million. He’s widely expected to get a major raise either in an extension with the Bruins or a contract with another team as an unrestricted free agent after July 1.

For now the focus turns to Krug’s health instead of his contract.

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