David Krejci's Return to Full Form Crucial to Boston Bruins' Long-Term Success

The Boston Bruins schedule promises to grow more formidable in the coming weeks. So, too, must their top center, David Krejci.

As of Sunday evening, Krejci will have had 72 game-free hours to continue to recuperate from his second injury stint of 2014-15. That respite comes on the heels of an iffy individual performance Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers.

As a team, the Bruins got away with that one player’s game of catch-up. They cannot, however, bank on many reruns. They cannot have such a key cog missing in any full or partial, literal or figurative sense for too long.

In a Sunday afternoon post by Caryn Switaj on the team’s website, head coach Claude Julien declared Krejci “day-to-day” for Monday’s home date with the New Jersey Devils. The Czech center sat out the team’s weekend practices, though if he plays Monday, sheer rest may be his best means of preparation.

If, on the other hand, he needs to miss one or two more games, that could serve him and the team better in advance of the heavyweight matchups on the horizon.

Anything that ensures his quickest possible return in his most effective, confident form is Boston's best bet.

In order to bolster the Bruins going forward, Krejci needs to certifiably thaw out the same way he did shortly after his belated regular-season debut. In terms of production, he hardly missed a beat after missing the first three games of 2014-15. Now, he needs to ensure a repeat return to his regular routine.

Suiting up for the first time in a week after missing two games, Krejci did set up Milan Lucic’s empty-netter to punctuate Thursday’s 5-2 win. But that was not before he incurred six penalty minutes for two infractions and committed a turnover.

One can debate the merit of reintroducing Krejci to the lineup when the Bruins elected to do so, but if nothing else, his performance offered an authentic gauge as to the status of his overall game before a protracted break with which to reassess everything.

In the wake of Thursday’s final buzzer, per ESPN Boston’s Kyle Brasseur, Julien offered the following mixed assessment:

"

Six penalty minutes isn’t what you want to see out of a guy like him. I don’t think he’s in midseason form yet so he’s got to just keep his shifts short, try and bring the pace of his game up to what it is when he’s good and work on that part of it. But it’s his first game back, so I don’t think we were expecting him to carry the team tonight.

"

No, not that night and not that any player should ever have to go so far as to “carry the team” in the quintessential team sport.

But as games increase in quantity and opponents in quality, Krejci will need to push closer to the “midseason form” Julien alludes to. He will need to carry his ordinary share of the workload.

The rare string of three consecutive off days will not repeat itself for another two weeks. In the interim, the Bruins will conduct eight contests in 15 nights.

Success in that slew of action will hinge heavily on droves of offense that can compensate for each other’s momentary cold spells. Dependable defensive aid from every pivot will be another requisite asset, especially in two meetings with Montreal and one apiece with St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

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Translation: Krejci needs to be ready to perform like the proficient playmaker that he is when on top of his game. As the first-line center, he likewise needs to earn his standard allotment of minutes by keeping Boston’s property orderly.

Despite missing five of the first 15 games of 2014-15, including each of the first three, Krejci is tied for second on the team with seven assists and 10 points. He has produced in eight of his first 10 ventures, including a pair of helpers Oct. 16 at Montreal.

That ability to stave off scoreless skids even after a sideline stint speaks to his long-established, top-six caliber. Provided the injury is not too severe and thus does not hold him out for too long, he does not need much re-acclimation.

Just the same, when Krejci has been out of commission, his absence has exploited Boston’s lack of bona fide top-six centers beyond himself and Patrice Bergeron.

His most recent substitute, Chris Kelly, is plainly a depth checking-liner. The same holds true for Carl Soderberg. Every other potential replacement at Boston’s disposal is either a grinder (e.g. Gregory Campbell), a winger or an unripe prospect (e.g. Ryan Spooner).

Lucic has looked lost when working with any given Krejci stand-in, going pointless in all five ventures sans his fellow eighth-year NHL mainstay this season. Two of his four “minus” games so far have occurred during Krejci’s sideline stints.

The hulking left wing was a minus-one with two giveaways in 15:02 of ice time at Detroit Oct. 9. He and fellow first-line winger Seth Griffith were each a minus-one against Ottawa in Krejci’s absence last Saturday.

The veteran Lucic, though, warrants no sympathy from Griffith, a second-year professional whose own trends have spoken to a dependence on Krejci.

The 21-year-old Griffith only made his NHL debut Oct. 13, the same day Krejci re-entered the lineup. Yet he is assuming the task of filling the right-wing slot on the top line.

In the four games since a two-goal, three-point performance against Minnesota, Griffith’s twig has frosted. Four of his five total NHL points have come with Krejci on the ice, and three have been jointly credited collaborations.

As long as the Bruins are inclined to retain their other line combinations, they will bank on Griffith on the top unit. They will therefore need Krejci, one of their alternate captains, and his active leadership to keep pulling the rookie along.

Anything short of that leaves the top line prone to an untimely slump. The Bruins need to be ready to curtail, match and maybe eclipse the offenses from Montreal, St. Louis and Pittsburgh in the coming weeks.

Their own strike force needs stability in order to make that happen. They also need those who bear the biggest two-way responsibilities available to perform with minutes that match their seasoning and skill set.

As they are presently constituted, Krejci is the cornerstone of that ecosystem. Monday will be the earliest possible update as to that cornerstone’s own sturdiness.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics for this report were found via NHL.com.