Bruins hit with an injury on backend in Game 2 loss
Things might be about to get worse for the Bruins before they get better.
As if a series-tying loss to the Maple Leafs wasn’t painful enough, the Bruins left Monday’s Game 2 without an update on the health and status of defenseman Andrew Peeke.
“I don’t have an update on Peeke yet,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the loss. “We should have one [Tuesday].”
Injured in the second period (likely off a Tyler Bertuzzi shot that went off his hand) and absent for all of the third period, the loss of Peeke was a massive one, and one that the Bruins felt almost immediately.
With Matt Grzelcyk called for a late-period interference penalty in the second period, and with Peeke in the locker room, the Bruins were forced to put Kevin Shattenkirk out on the penalty kill. That decision ended up with the puck in the back of the Boston net, as Shattenkirk was unable to block a John Tavares look that rocketed by Linus Ullmark.
Spin around, stop, score... the John Tavares method 🚨 pic.twitter.com/OFjAvaEBwi
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 23, 2024
Shattenkirk came into the postseason averaging just 0:06 of shorthanded time on ice per game over 61 appearances this year, which ranked 21st among all Boston skaters. He was out there for a full 1:26 of penalty-kill action before Tavares scored.
The Bruins also felt the strain of having to roll with just five defensemen for the entirety of the third period, too, as the breakouts became sloppier and just looked like they were coming off the sticks of players who were simply running on fumes.
“I thought our five D gave us everything they could,” Montgomery, who finds himself in a 1-1 series tie for the second straight postseason, offered. “I thought our forwards needed to take over the game in the third period.”
Should Peeke’s absence extend beyond Monday, the Bruins do have Parker Wotherspoon on deck as the proverbial seventh defenseman, while Mason Lohrei is an option down in Providence. The Bruins have also welcomed Derek Forbort back to the club after a recent two-game run in the AHL, though they’ve been careful to declare him game ready to this point.
The 6-foot-3 Peeke recorded two assists, along with 44 hits and 31 blocked shots, in 15 regular-season games with the Bruins, and had recorded four hits and three blocks in just under 28 minutes through two playoff games.
Game 3 is set for Wednesday night up in Toronto.
