For the Boston Bruins to defeat the high-scoring Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final, they will need the same offensive production from the blue line that they got in their five-game second-round series against the New York Rangers.
Boston leads the playoffs in goals from defensemen with 13, five more than Pittsburgh who ranks second in this category. For a team that lacks elite offensive skill in its top-nine forward group, the Bruins rely so much on their defensemen to generate scoring chances, especially on the power play.
One player who made a gigantic—and unexpected—impact on the Rangers series from the back end was Bruins defenseman Torey Krug, a rookie who made his playoff debut in Game 1 of the second round.
In just five postseason games, Krug has scored four goals, tying him with teammate Johnny Boychuk and Slava Voynov of the Los Angeles Kings for the league lead in goals scored among defensemen.
"They got a lot of offense from their back end," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella in his final postgame presser of the season after Saturday's Game 5 at TD Garden. "That was ano ...
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Article written by Nicholas Goss
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May 25th, 2013 by Nicholas Goss Leave a reply »
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