Boston Bruins: Analyzing and grading the 2019-20 season of David Krejci
By Matt Hawkins
How did Boston Bruins’ center David Krejci fare in 2019-20?
After matching his career-high in points (73) and setting a career-best in assists (53) in 81 games in 2018-19, many Boston Bruins fans were expecting similar numbers in 2019-20 from center David Krejci.
If you were one of these fans that expecting these great numbers again from Krejci, you were disappointed. Krejci’s 2019-20 season reverted back to his normal form — which is a good second line center, but not a great one like he was in 2018-19.
After 73 points and averaging 0.90 points per game, Krejci fell back down to earth in 2019-20 and put up just 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in 61 games — which is still a respectable 0.70 points per game but nowhere near his 2018-19 level.
To make matters worse, Krejci was horrid defensively. His expected goals against (xGA) was higher than his expected goals for (xGF), leaving him with an expected plus/minus (E+/-) of -0.8.
Furthermore, his possession metrics dropped significantly. His Corsi-for percentage (CF%) went from a 56.3 to 50.3 and his Fenwick-for percentage (FF%) went from a 55.9 to 50.1.
However, in the playoffs, Krejci had seemed to find his 2018-19 form again. He was arguably the Bruins best offensive player scoring 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 13 games.
The Grade for Boston Bruins’ center David Krejci.
Although Krejci wasn’t great in 2019-20 like he was in 2018-19, he was still good. He was on pace for 57 points in 82 games, which is what is expected from a second line center.
However, he struggled when it came to defense and controlling and driving the play. Which as a center, you’re expected to be better defensively than wingers. This decreases his score a bit.
But, ultimately, Krejci took his game to another level in the playoffs and was one of the B’s best players. Because of his postseason, Krejci’s score gets a bit of a boost.
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For his 2019-20 season, I think Krejci deserves an overall grade of a solid B.
He wasn’t near as good as he was in 2018-19, but he was still a solid second line center, and a great one in the playoffs.