BOSTON — News that Charlie McAvoy is expected to need two weeks to recover from a procedure to treat an abnormal heart rhythm upsets a lineup that has been remarkably stable over the 12-0-4 unbeaten-in-regulation streak the Bruins take into Tuesday night’s game against the Devils at TD Garden.

McAvoy’s departure, however, also comes at a point where the Bruins’ defense corps is otherwise at full health, and one of its most productive players [...]

MIKE LOFTUS The Quincy Patriot Ledger

McAvoy’s departure, however, also comes at a point where the Bruins’ defense corps is otherwise at full health, and one of its most productive players is at his peak.

Torey Krug, who had sunk to minus-10 for the season when the B’s lost to Washington on Dec. 14, which was their last defeat in regulation, is plus-11 over the team’s 16-game points streak and now plus-1 for the season. Krug is also 3-6–9 in that stretch, and leads Bruins defensemen with 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists).

“I don’t want to say I’ve played ‘better,’ ” Krug said, “but maybe there was a stretch of games right before ... Washington where defensively, my gaps were poor. I was giving up a lot more chances, creating big errors that would hurt the team.

“This has definitely been a better stretch. I’m more confident in my skating, and in my ability to end plays before they even start.”

Krug has spent much of the season getting accustomed to a new partner in Brandon Carlo. As a rookie, Carlo spent last season being mentored by Zdeno Chara, now he’s with the puck-moving, higher-risk Krug.

“It definitely took some time to get some chemistry,” Krug said. “Obviously, it’s a different role for [Carlo], and with a different type of player, but we’ve adjusted well. We’ve both kind of taken off, for sure.

With McAvoy out, Carlo is expected to move back next to Chara, while Krug would be reunited with longtime partner Adam McQuaid, who has played three straight games after missing 36 with a broken fibula. Kevan Miller, who has missed the last three games because of illness, is expected to return against the Devils, re-teamed with rookie Matt Grzelcyk.

Around the boards

The NHL named Bruins winger Brad Marchand the league’s Third Star for the week ending on Sunday. Marchand went 2-5–7 over the Bruins’ four games. ... Coach Bruce Cassidy on the Super Bowl-bound Patriots: “I’ve been in New England for 10 years [eight at AHL Providence, the last two in Boston], and everyone in the area can see how teams continually can’t put the Patriots away. They’re in people’s heads; I don’t care what anybody says. ... It’s an amazing quality that team has.”