Bruins Krug: 'No Matter How Good You Are You Have To Be Lucky To Make It Through' NHL Playoffs
BOSTON (CBS) - Bruins defenseman Torey Krug told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Gresh & Zolak show Friday afternoon it "still sucks" being eliminated from the playoffs after losing Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals Wednesday night.
Krug discussed the disappointment and weighed in on what went wrong against the Canadiens.
"It's a tough way to end it. A lot of guys here expected our season to be done in June. I know a lot of guys here in Boston don't have any plans for summer so it's tough. It's a tough time for sure," said Krug.
Krug spent part of last year's postseason run with the team after getting called up during the Rangers series, so he knew going into the playoffs this year what kind of animal he'd be facing.
But that's not to say he didn't learn anything this time around.
"You've got to be lucky. No matter how good you are you have to be lucky to make it through. That luck might be all those posts that we hit. Maybe one of them goes in and it's a different ballgame. But you can't hang your head on those. You've got to understand that sometimes it's not meant to be, and that kind of seemed to be the case."
What was surprising to Bruins fans was the perceived lack of effort and sense of urgency the team displayed in the first period of Game 7 with the TD Garden crowd rocking.
CSNNE's Sean McAdam joined Gresh and Zolak in studio and he described the play as "flat," but Krug doesn't necessarily see it that way.
"I wouldn't call it flat. Being a part of that dressing room and understanding before the game how excited everyone was to have the opportunity to play in a Game 7, which is one of the best things about sports in general, I think we were just gripping the sticks a little bit too tight.
"We came out flying, or wanting to be flying around and buzzing, but it just wasn't happening. Everyone was gripping the sticks a little too tight, and we spent a lot of energy getting ready for the game.
"They scored that first goal early on -- that quiets things down. You have an idea of how the game wants to go and you want it to go perfectly and it doesn't. That's what happens and we had to deal with it."
Krug credited the Canadiens for outplaying the B's throughout the series and called them "one of the best transition teams in the NHL," adding, "They were able to capitalize and we weren't."
The 23-year-old refused to comment on how the officiating was in Game 7 and admits it'll be tough watching the rest of the playoffs at home.
Krug also acknowledged that things were said between Milan Lucic and select Canadiens players during the traditional handshake line at the end of Game 7, but what was said "should remain out there" on the ice and it shouldn't have been brought to the public or press.
"I have my teammate's back on this one," said Krug.
Listen below for the full discussion, including his status as a restricted free agent and much more:
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