Krejci Contributes in First Game Back

(Photo: Alan Sullivan)

It was announced in the afternoon before the Boston  Bruins were to take on the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, October 29, 219, that David Krejci had been activated from his injured reserve status. His last game had been against the Anaheim Ducks when they came to Boston for a matinee game on Monday, October 14th.

Would Krejci have any rust? How would that affect his play? What would his chemistry be with his linemates and would he be used on the power play if the Bruins got any man-advantage time?

Looking at the numbers after the game, it was difficult to believe that Krejci had missed any games. He took 23 shifts throughout the game with a total of 19:19 TOI—and 4:57 of that was helping on the second power play unit. He was 50% in the faceoff circle, and more importantly he notched a goal and an assist on the night.

Once again David Pastrnak had gotten the Bruins on the board first, when the Bruins went on the power play 6:19 into the opening frame, and it will probably be a traumatic shock to everyone if his streak ends because he seems to be so focused and confident. However, secondary scoring is what makes a team unstoppable. The Bruins had begun to see some of that recently, but it was still obvious that Krejci’s absence was felt.

No one would have expected him to score on his first game back, but that’s exactly what he did. With the Bruins on another power play with 3:35 remaining in the first period, Krejci worked himself to the left circle, where Pastrnak’s one-timers have been finding the net, and 1:26 into that third power play he put Boston up 2-0. And you could tell they were feeling confident in the game.

“Well, [a power play goal] builds momentum. Skill guys feel good about themselves when they score, I don’t think they care if it’s five-on-five or power play. They want to touch the puck, they want to finish. How it effects the other team, typically they’re going to have to be a little more disciplined, a little more careful about what penalties they take, there’s that effect. I think at home when it’s on, it looks good so you get the fans into the game. So there’s a lot of positives, our guys feed off of that. They like watching good plays too, so they get excited for them. It’s typically the first group but tonight I thought the second unit did their part too, throwing it around,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy after the game.

That confidence continued to show even when Brent Burns cut the Bruins lead in half 1:31 into the second period—also on the power play—for San Jose. Four minutes after Burns’ goal, the Bruins found themselves back up by two, and once again Krejci figured into it. From almost an identical spot in the left circle, he slapped the puck to Charlie Coyle who was right on the doorstep of Martin Jones’ crease, waiting to put the puck in the net, which is exactly what happened.

Krejci’s ability to see the ice and know where to put the puck was on display in that sequence. There was absolutely nothing Jones could do to prevent that goal. And his knowing that he wanted to pass the puck to Coyle showed the lightning quick calculations he was making as the play was unfolding.

“No, it was kind of a bit more on my backhand and everyone knows I’m a pass first. I knew Chuckie [Coyle] was back there so, so just tried to make a really hard pass and it worked this time,” Krejci described his assist.

Two points with the goal and the assist, a total of three shots on goal. He looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. 

After the game though he gave an honest assessment of his performance in the game.

“You know there was some shifts that I felt good, but there was some shifts that I had the puck on my stick and I lost it it, you know, no one was around me and I just lost it. But that’s understandable,” Krejci shared. “My game is, I always want to have the puck on my stick, so, I’m sure that will come soon. I had the puck on my stick today, but lots of times I lost it so, that will come…control the puck. I’m not worried about that so just keep plugging away.”

And Coach Cassidy was certainly pleased to see Krejci hit the ice in full force.

“Yeah. You don’t know what’s going to happen, there’s a little catch-up involved and I’m sure he’ll go through that. Good thing for him is he’ll get a few more days now to sort of get his legs back under him and the schedule’s a little bit favorable for a guy coming back that way. Good for him. Listen, we need him going. We know that, and it’s good to get off on the right foot tonight,” Coach Cassidy said. “I think he can drive a line when he’s going. And we didn’t expect him to do that necessarily tonight, he’s missed time, but that’s what we want out of David. He’s a pro, he’s been around, he’s a Stanley Cup champion. Like, we need him to pull that line along. He’s got a constant in [Jake] DeBrusk and then whoever’s on that other side, drive the line. That’s what we want him to do, because there’s going to be nights that Bergy [Patrice Bergeron], that line is going to get neutralized. It doesn’t look that way right now, but we know it’s going to happen. So then you need some other guys going — now you get Coyle, now, that’s two games in a row he’s been all over the puck. So all of a sudden, you’ve got three lines that are a threat to score. And you’ve got your fourth line that you know is going to give you quality minutes, so things are shaping up up front.”

Krejci gets a couple of days to ease back into the season, as the Bruins don’t play again until Saturday night. And that extra non-game time will only help him to continue to build up his stamina on the ice during his shifts.

With Krejci back and the Bruins now getting scoring from the top nine and energy from their fourth line, the opposition is going to find a formidable team dressed in black and gold. And as was evident Tuesday night, Krejci is a critical element in that formula.