The Bruins finished out their Game 2 loss to the Maple Leafs with one fewer player on the bench than they had when they started. Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke left Monday’s game with 6:40 left in the second period and did not return.
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The injury appeared to occur when Peeke blocked a shot on the penalty kill. Tyler Bertuzzi ripped off a shot from the high slot that caught Peeke in his left hand. Peeke recoiled and started shaking his hand. He still gripped his stick a couple times and finished the shift before heading down the tunnel.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the game that there was no immediate update on the availability of Peeke for Game 3 in Toronto.
UPDATE: Montgomery told reporters on Tuesday that Peeke is "week-to-week" and will not travel to Toronto for Games 3 and 4.
Peeke’s injury left the Bruins playing with only five defensemen for the final 26:40 of the game. At the time of the injury, the Bruins were up 2-1. Peeke, who has logged a lot of ice time shorthanded, was noticeably missing on the penalty kill a few minutes later.
The Bruins couldn’t stave off Toronto’s next power play with Matt Grzelcyk in the box for interference, as John Tavares capitalized with the equalizer. Kevin Shattenkirk, who rarely kills penalties, was filling in for Peeke on the PK and was the player in coverage on Tavares’ game-tying shot.
The Leafs eventually won on a breakaway goal by Auston Matthews to seal a 3-2 victory in Game 2 and tie the series 1-1.
If Peeke were to need time off, the Bruins have several options at the position waiting in the wings to get into the lineup. Parker Wotherspoon, who played 41 games in the regular season but has yet to make his playoff debut, could fit in on the third pair. Mason Lohrei remains with Providence but could be a call-up option (UPDATE: Lohrei was, in fact, called up on Tuesday). And Boston now has Derek Forbort back on the table after he recently came back from an injury that was originally feared to be season-ending.
Forbort returned from an AHL conditioning loan on Monday after playing two games with the Providence Bruins over the weekend. He hasn’t played since March 2 and missed the rest of the regular season recovering from surgery.
Wotherspoon and Forbort fit more of the defense-first/penalty-killing role that Peeke had. Montgomery said on Tuesday that Forbort is "day-to-day," but probably not an option for Game 3.
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