Torey Krug provides Game 1's iconic moment with helmet-less

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Torey Krug has had a big playoff moments before. Back in 2013, he got called up for the Bruins' second-round series against the Rangers, and became the first rookie defenseman ever to do so.

Offensive contributions are the kind of moments you expect from Krug. But in Game 1 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final Monday night, Krug earned himself a spot on Bruins click to enlarge Blues forward Robert Thomas with a hard, clean hit.

Big hits are always good for you, but it's the no-helmet factor that makes this one to another level. That's why it's going to be the most important thing of this game, even moreso than Sean Kuraly's go-ahead goal in the third period.

So let's start with how Krug ended up helmet-less in the first place. He found himself locked in an epic battle with David Perron in front of the Bruins net that escalated into a wrestling match and culminated in Perron ripping off Krug's helmet before skating away.

The Krug and Perron Krug and Perron. They did not, though, and so play continued at the other end of the ice.

He had lost his helmet, and B) most people would be pretty tired after that net-front battle – he decided to stay on and race up the ice.

At first it looked like Krug was going after Perron, who was gliding to the St. Louis. But Perron was not in the play, and if Krug first had revenge on his mind, he thought better of it. Krug zoomed right past him and into the offensive zone, where he arrived just in time to line up Thomas as the puck came to him up the boards.

Bang. Thomas goes down and the TD Garden crowd goes crazy.

And most importantly, no referee's go goes to call a penalty. There was some debate on Twitter The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun most notably thinking it was.

But that seems like a really tough argument to make. When you watch the full sequence leading up to the hit, it's clear that Krug starts gliding into the hit at the blue line. He had built up some speed before that, but he's no longer gaining speed as he goes into the hit.

There's no jumping on the hit either. His shoulder remains tucked the whole time. There's no contact to the head. It's not because Thomas had just touched the puck.

It was just a hard, clean hit.

The time of the game hits the backdrop of the day of the game. For the record, it came with 10:20 left in the third period. The Bruins had already taken a 3-2 lead and had been controlling play since early in the second period.

In that sense, it would be a stretch to call Krug 's hit a turning point. It has been brought to the bricks by the bikers, as they have been bridging their brains. But it's not like the Bruins Wakeup call.

Memorable moments do not always need to be turning points, though. They just need to be, well … memorable. And this hit certainly was.

As far as how Krug will be remembered, he was focused on what really matters.

"I'm glad I got a haircut a few days ago."

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Related: Sean Kuraly's go-ahead Bruins to 4-2 win, 1-0 series lead

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