Causeway Crowd continues with its assessment of Boston Bruins players. This time around we turn our attention to forward and alternate captain David Krejci.
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- The Lasting Legacy of David Krejci
Boston Bruins forward David Krejci was one of the big question marks going into the 2016-17 season. He was coming off his second major hip surgery of his career. With the addition of David Backes to the Bruins, there was early talk among the media. Could a healthy Krejci become part of a blockbuster deal with another team?
In the end, Don Sweeney chose to stick with Krejci. So far, it seems to have been a wise decision. He’s played in all 36 games so far this season. Krejci started the season out kind of slow but his production has picked up of late. He’s currently third in overall scoring with 20 points tallied so far. His six goals are certainly below average, but it is good enough for fifth overall for the B’s. (That should tell you how tough good goals are to come by these days.)
Krejci’s biggest problem this season has been consistency. Not so much his, but that of his line. (It’s part of the reason why one of the better players in the league is currently riding a -9 rating.) He’s played with nearly all the forwards this season. Krejci hasn’t had a chance to gel with a line the same way Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have.
About two weeks ago, Coach Claude Julien chose to make a few changes to the forward line. He once again paired up Krejci with the Bruins in-house hockey phenom, David Pastrnak. Krejci responded well to the change. He’s had two points in the last five games, and things are looking up for the veteran center.
“Well, we had some chemistry,” said Krejci to Pastrnak’s move two weeks ago. “He’s from the same country as me, so we talk a lot in Czech and we have, maybe we’re a lot different players, but we have similar thinking. That also helps so hopefully we can click from the first shift tomorrow and help the team win.”
David Krejci should be able to pull out another 20 goal, 50 point season in the time he has remaining. There are a few caveats to that prediction. The most important one is that Krejci stays healthy throughout the remainder of the season.
Another important factor is that Claude Julien keeps Pastrnak and Krejci together. Pastrnak and Krejci have great chemistry, and they make each other play better. That will certainly warm up Krejci’s hands and only make Pastrnak even hotter as they fight to stay in playoff contention this season.