Are the Boston Bruins finished without David Krejci?
The Boston Bruins have had a rough go of it recently. The B’s took only four out of a possible ten points out of their most recent five game road trip. Their 1-2-2 performance showed the Bruins playing some of their worst hockey of the season. Thankfully, the Black and Gold pulled off a stunning 6-2 upset of the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
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The roster has been affected by injuries throughout the season, and it’s certainly true now. The Bruins lost Kevan Miller to a season-ending injury last week, and now the Bruins are likely to finish out the season without the help of their top line center. David Krejci‘s injury against the St. Louis Blues is serious, and the Bruins will have to figure out what they need to do to make it to the post-season.
“We talk about adversity, and we just keep getting more and more,” said Bruins bench Claude Julien over the B’s latest string of bad luck. “There’s nothing you can do except persevere, stay positive, push through and find ways to win hockey games. You’ve got to fight through these situations. Every year you go through them, some worse than others which is this year. But you don’t change the outlook of how you’re going to get out of it.
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“You lose a guy like Krejci and your team roster takes a step back, but our job right now is to make sure our game doesn’t take a step back. We don’t have a choice here. I’m going to tell you the same thing that I keep telling you no matter what happens here: there are a lot of guys in that room that are good players, good warriors and guys that you rely on to turn things around.”
The Bruins have turned to Ryan Spooner to help fill in the short-term. Ryan Spooner is one of those flashier, offensive-minded players that doesn’t seem to fully gel with the Julien system. He does provide the speed the Bruins have been looking for though. He did his job last night against the Blackhawks though. He earned an assist on Milan Lucic‘s goal. He also was instrumental in clearing the way for Dougie Hamilton‘s power-play goal.
Spooner has struggled to find his niche in the Bruins organization. The B’s attempted to put him on the wing in an effort to use his speed, but his role as a center often limited his options.
“They’re pretty deep in the center position, so it’s kind of tough,” Spooner said. “I tried to switch, and it didn’t really go as I had planned. They have a couple guys that can do both, but I think for the most part, guys kind of prefer playing the spot that they’re used to. I guess I tried it out, and it didn’t go well. [When] I got switched to the wing, I think I played there for ten games, and it was the first time I had played there. I just wasn’t really sure where to go sometimes, and I guess was kind of lost — and now that I’m back playing the middle of the ice, I just know where to go and where to be, and I guess it all just seems to flow, so it’s good.”
While Ryan Spooner isn’t David Krejci (at least not yet), he’s proven he can be useful to the Bruins organization. He filled in adequately, and proved he can be an effective top six forward. The Bruins can still be expected to perform with David Krejci and last night’s game was proof of it.