The Boston Bruins needed to have all of last year’s injured players to come back this season at 100 percent. That need became even more critical as the Bruins defensive woes became more obvious. So far, Zdeno Chara has come back in great shape, and Dennis Seidenberg is rapidly getting back to his old self. But if the Bruins are most thankful for any one players’ return, they’ve got to be excited about the return of their top line center, David Krejci.
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Krejci’s eighteen points (eight goals) have been one of the biggest positive surprises out of the Bruins .500 season so far. While he’s had a lot of recent success when paired with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, Krejci continues to find success with whoever Claude Julien puts on the line with him.
“I don’t think there’s many games where I would say David Krejci hasn’t been good,” said the Bruins bench boss of his top line center. “He’s been one of our great stories this year, coming back from that injury last year. The way he played tonight is the way he’s capable of playing all the time. He skates. He’s pretty nifty and skilled. I thought that was a great move. It’s tough for goalies to stop those shots.”
Krejci is as much a total three-zone, two-way player as Bergeron. He’s the number two guy in the faceoff circle for the B’s (50.4%, behind Bergeron). When Claude Julien falls back on his defensive-minded system, he and Bergeron are the first two forwards to answer the call.
Puck Prose
Due to his versatility, Krejci is now seeing more and more time on the Bruins’ penalty kill unit. With Krejci seeing more time on the PK, the Bruins (while still last in the league) have improved from 70.0% to 71.7%. He was part of the Bruins wall that stopped the Red Wings on Saturday. He put in 81 seconds on the penalty kill against the Wings, and nearly four minutes of short-handed time in the B’s 2-1 win against the New York Islanders. With Chris Kelly out for the season, Krejci will likely become one of the permanent members of the penalty kill this season.
“I think it started with our defensive game,” Krejci said of the Bruins most recent win. “We took care of our own end and slowed them down in the neutral zone. That was our game plan. We did that, we stayed patient, and it paid off in the second period.” Krejci was one of three scorers for the Black and Gold in a 3-1 win over Detroit. The Bruins were able to not only play to their strengths, but restrict the speed and space of a very versatile Red Wings offense.
Krejci and the Bruins will attempt to keep the winning way going as they take on the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night at the TD Garden.