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Bruins’ Kevan Miller, Torey Krug get time in key spots

Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller’s digits (No. 86) underscore his status as an emergency call-up.AP/File

Kevan Miller was 0.3 seconds away from successfully capping a most unforeseen shift.

For the last 1:10 of regulation, with the Bruins leading by a goal and Marc-Andre Fleury on the bench, the Penguins rolled out their heavy metal for an offensive-zone faceoff: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang, and Paul Martin. Pittsburgh’s six-on-five formation is no regular lineup. It is an All-Star attack, perpetual highlight loop, and video-game fantasy roster rolled into one.

Naturally, the Bruins countered with Zdeno Chara. But coach Claude Julien also rolled out an undrafted free agent. Less than a week ago, Miller had yet to draw an NHL paycheck.

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Johnny Boychuk was still recovering from an inadvertent blow to the throat. Dougie Hamilton was on the bench. Miller was Chara’s late-game partner because he deserved to be the captain’s righthand man.

“He was a pretty reliable defenseman for us all night,” Julien said of the 26-year-old rookie. “So he was out there at the end. I thought he was a good player for us. Sometimes you talk about experience. But you also talk about merit. He deserved to be there with the circumstances we were under at that time.”

Miller and Chara did their jobs for 69.7 seconds. Crosby, however, whacked in a Kunitz backhand to tie the game, 3-3.

“It happened so quick,” Miller said. “I think there were six or seven seconds left, and you’re just trying to keep that puck from the net. They shot it toward the net, it hits someone in the chest, it bounces down, and there’s a guy back door by himself. I think it was a numbers game. Maybe we could have just done a little better job out in front for Tuukka [Rask]. He did a great job all night. Maybe we could have done a little bit more at that point.”

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Because of injuries to Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid, the Bruins are a jumble of puzzle pieces on defense. They have Miller, whose digits (No. 86) underscore his status as an emergency call-up. They’re also rolling out left-shot youngsters Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski for more minutes than they’ve been used to logging. Their one constant is Chara, the strongman who’s helped the shorthanded Bruins record 5 points in their last six games.

But those pieces have purpose. Miller, as a defense-first defenseman, was an easy choice for a final regulation shift. Miller played 20:13, third-most behind Chara (25:38) and Boychuk (20:57).

Overtime, however, is not the best place for a pickup truck like Miller. The four-on-four pace is a better fit for Krug, a Corvette to Miller’s F-150. Krug’s skating, vision, and offensive instincts made the rookie, on the winning goal, the easy choice to send out for a shift with the second line. Krug is perfect for that kind of situation.

Where Miller fell just short of his intentions in regulation, Krug busted through in OT.

Patrice Bergeron started the game-changing shift with a faceoff win in the offensive zone. Krug and Brad Marchand played give and go up top. When Marchand connected with his return pass, the Penguins had failed to cover the duo’s up-top movement.

By the time Krug took Marchand’s return pass, the defenseman had time to approach the left dot, raise his stick high, and bring the hammer down on a ripper. It was Krug’s seventh goal, tying him with Erik Karlsson and Michael Stone for most strikes by a defenseman.

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“It’s fun,” Krug said of four-on-four OT. “It’s a lot more fun to play with the puck. There’s more room out there. You play with the puck more. There’s more room to skate and make plays. It’s a lot more fun.”

This was not the opponent the Bruins wanted to face without Seidenberg. The dependable No. 2 defenseman would have given the Bruins defensive balance against Pittsburgh’s top two lines.

The Bruins matched Chara against Pittsburgh’s top line of Kunitz, Crosby, and Pascal Dupuis. The Bruins would have rolled out a healthy Seidenberg alongside Hamilton against Malkin, Neal, and Jussi Jokinen.

The Bruins felt Seidenberg’s absence. For all but the final 0.3 seconds, Chara and his rotating cast of partners kept Crosby from being his usual offensive dynamo. The Bruins didn’t have as much luck against Pittsburgh’s second line.

At 0:37 of the second, Neal snapped a puck high blocker on Rask. At 11:09 of the third, Neal struck again, this time abusing Rask’s glove hand with a riser tucked into the corner. Neal scored both goals against the second pairing of Bartkowski and Boychuk.

The Bruins shouldn’t be defensively shorthanded much longer. McQuaid could play against Detroit on Wednesday. Seidenberg isn’t far behind McQuaid.

When the veterans come back, Miller will return to Providence. But Miller’s three-game audition proved he quickly gained his bosses’ trust.

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“I think it’s been OK,” Miller said of the promotion. “The first game was pretty good. I’m just trying to be consistent every game, fit in, and do my thing.”


Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.