At the end of the second period of a tense, tied Islanders-Bruins game that Boston eventually won in a shootout, New York defenseman Johnny Boychuk made a selfless and nice gesture by picking up his old teammate David Krejci’s tooth when it fell to the ice. And in return, the ungrateful Bruins just called him “weird” and “gross.” Boychuk should never pick up teeth again if that’s all the thanks he gets!
If you’re wondering why there was a tooth on the ice, it’s because Krejci got absolutely rocked by Thomas Hickey while exiting his own zone, and as he fell to the ice, his mouth was a little emptier. Krejci would return to the game, but his tooth would not. However, it was at least saved from a cruel death at the wheels of a zamboni by former Bruin Boychuk, who found the tooth and took it over to the Boston bench.
A proper and polite reaction to a guy who’s not even on your team anymore rescuing another man’s cold tooth would probably be something like “Whoa, thanks. How very kind of you.” But postgame, the response from the Bruins to Boychuk’s denticle deliverance seemed to be disgust:
“I love Johnny,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s a good guy … but that’s weird.”
“I didn’t even know what he was picking up, to be honest,” defenseman Torey Krug said. “I thought he was being a clown like he typically is. After I found out it was his teeth it was pretty gross.”
If anything, Boychuk deserves a reward. I bet Krejci earned himself at least two dollars when he left that tooth under his pillow last night. They should split it 50-50.