The Bruins will be without puck-moving defenseman Torey Krug for at least three weeks after the 5-foot-9 defender took a puck to the face in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Red Wings, suffering a non-displaced fractured in his jaw.

So now yet another competition opens up on the B's roster.

“Obviously Donnie [Sweeney] will make the decision he feels he’ll need to make at the end of camp. But right now we have a good competition from within, so we have depth,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after Thursday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “If you’re looking for just a clone of Torey — an offensive guy — obviously [Matt Grzelcyk], [Jakub] Zboril have some of those qualities, so it’s an opportunity for them. Robbie O’Gara started for us last year, Tommy Cross played in the playoffs. [Paul] Postma is a right-shot, but has played left in the past, so internally we have options. But if [Sweeney] looks externally, I’m sure he’ll always look to make our team better, but right now, it’s not a long-term injury, so that’s the good news.”

The big thing for the Bruins is that they're already short on left-shot defenders (Krug and Zdeno Chara were the only two projected to be on their opening night roster), and that they'll likely need a lefty to emerge if they seek a better balance for their Opening Night's six D.

That leaves the door open for a player like Matt Grzelcyk.

"Grzelcyk has some puck moving ability, good first pass," Cassidy said. "We’re asking him to continue to work on using his quickness and stick to kill rushes instead of trying to confront people physically. Confront them with foot speed and acumen. Whether Torey got injured or not, that was part of his growth as a player."

A puck-mover by nature, with six goals and 32 points in 70 games with the P-Bruins last season, the 23-year-old Grzelcyk also appeared in two games for the Big B’s last season, with four shots on goal in his brief cameo. The Charlestown native is also a left shot, and would certainly fit Cassidy’s desired system predicated on an up-tempo game that begins in the d-zone and moves up ice before the opposition has a chance to react.

Behind him, Robbie O'Gara remains an intriguing option, especially after a solid year of seasoning between Boston and Providence, especially as a potential short-term option.

But the Bruins have options beyond those two, including the 28-year-old Paul Postma.

Signed as a free agent in July, Postma has been practicing on the left-side for the majority of this summer, and is with the B's after setting career-highs in assists (13), points (14), and games (65) with the Jets last season.

"I knew a bit from his days with Winnipeg’s organization years ago as a young guy," Cassidy said of Postma. "We played them a lot. He was in St. John’s then. You notice him as a good puck-moving, get-up the ice [defenseman]. Big shot. So what we’re trying to see how right is how he fits in defensively.

"The difficulty we’re having with that is a lot of our kids who we want to see play — Zboril, Lauzon, Emil hasn’t been able to go, O’Gara — they are all left sticks that are more comfortable on the left side," Cassidy continued. "At some point, we have to determine what’s best for us as opposed to where these kids can help us now or later. So we’re getting to that point here fairly quickly, and especially with Torey’s injury that we may have to move Paul over there and figure it out from there."

The Bruins will continue their preseason slate with a visit from the Flyers. This will be the preseason debut of Chara, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand, as well as Tuukka Rask, who is expected to be in net for the full 60 minutes tonight.

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