Torey Krug: Bruins won't fall out of playoff picture

Here they go again?

After two years of missing the playoffs as a result of late-season swoons, the Boston Bruins aren't about to let go of their hold on a postseason berth.

So says defenseman Torey Krug, whose seventh goal of the season wasn't enough to keep the team from dropping a third straight game Tuesday in Ottawa.

"Haven't thought about it. Haven't talked about it," Krug said of the past two seasons' failures, per Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. "It's a different feeling this year. It's not going to happen. I know we have a lot of pride in this room, the guys that have been through it. There's no other option except making sure we stay on course and take care and do our jobs."

Boston had a chance of securing a playoff spot on the final day of 2015-16, only to lose 6-1 to the Senators on home ice. And in 2014-15, a three-game losing streak to end the season kept the Bruins two points out of the final spot.

Despite the recent losses, Boston remains third in the Atlantic Division with a 78 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Sports Club Stats.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, however, are one point back and have two games in hand, and could very well bump the Bruins into the second wild-card spot and a much less desirable first-round matchup. The New York Islanders sit four points back, also with two games in hand, thereby posing a real threat of bumping the Bruins from the playoff picture entirely.

For Krug, the answer is simple: take things one game at a time, beginning Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"There's no other option except winning that game," he said.