BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio/AP) — Moments after losing his helmet on the ice, Boston's Torey Krug raced down the rink and laid out St. Louis' Robert Thomas with a body check that fired up the Boston bench, and electrified the raucous crowd.
"I'm sure my coach and my GM were hoping that I would just get off the ice at that point," Krug told reporters after the game. "But that's hockey."
After a grandfathered helmet rule was put in place in 1979, it's become increasingly rare to see a player on the ice without protection. Monday's airborne hit could be the last time a play like that ever happens as NHL general managers have endorsed a proposal that would require a player without a helmet to go to the bench instead of finishing his shift.
Krug said players need to take care of their heads, but with the Stanley Cup on the line it wasn't really a concern.
"I was battling with their guy in front, got up without a helmet and wasn't too happy about it," Krug said. "Just came down the ice and had a chance to make a hockey hit. And it turned out to be a good one. So it was big. Hopefully it gave the guys a boost on the bench, and the crowd obviously liked it."
Krug's reaction in the locker room? "I'm just glad I got a haircut a few days ago."
WBZ NewsRadio's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports