OTTAWA -- The Bruins might be down another defenseman and, no, this is not a recording.
Already without Torey Krug (lower body) and Brandon Carlo (upper body) headed into Wednesday night’s Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators, the Bruins lost Colin Miller in the second period of their 2-1 win to a nasty knee-on-knee hit by Senators defenseman and resident hatchet man Mark Borowiecki. Miller returned in the second period for one more shift after getting treatment, but never made it out for the third period.
The loss of both Krug and Miller puts a crimp in Boston’s ability to move the puck against an Ottawa team looking to clog things up with their 1-3-1 trap, but that’s the challenge the Bruins will accept in this playoff series.
“Losing Colin Miller sort of magnifies the situation . . . " said interim coach Bruce Cassidy. “What is this, the third game in a row that we’ve lost a defenseman? It can wear on you. Especially with a team like Ottawa that puts the puck behind you and makes you go back and get it.
“Give [the Bruins players] credit. It wasn’t always pretty, but the players defended when they had to and got better as the game went along moving the puck. The [forwards] understood we’ve got to get from our end to their end, and we can’t tax our D the whole period. I thought we did a good job there.”
There was no real update to speak of on Miller after the game, but it was pretty clear his right knee took the brunt of a borderline knee-on-knee hit by Borowiecki, for which he received a tripping penalty. It would be surprising if Miller was ready to go on Saturday for Game 2 given the nasty-looking nature of the hit, and it won’t be surprising if the D-man is deemed “day-to-day” by the Bruins.
Needless to say the Bruins may be dipping back down to Providence for Tommy Cross or Matt Grzelcyk if another D-man body is needed, or they may finally dust off Joe Morrow and play him in an NHL game for the first time since Jan. 22.