It may seem a little strange to put David Krejci among some of the greatest players in Bruins history, but when it comes to the postseason, it’s kind of tough to question the center’s resume.
Krejci is having himself another stellar postseason this year, and with the B’s just six wins from winning a Stanley Cup, there are some who see a Conn Smythe in his future. While that’s still putting the horse way before the cart (the horse is still in the barn at this point, really), it does speak to how well Krejci is playing this spring.
This is nothing new, of course. The first-line center was one of the Bruins’ best players on their run to the Cup back in 2011. He led the league in points en route to bringing a Cup to Boston for the first time since 1972. Just a year earlier, Krejci’s injury against Philadelphia proved to be a turning point in the series as Boston went on to blow a 3-0 series lead.
While Krejci’s accolades aren’t going unnoticed — at least not completely — it’s kind of tough to fathom what Krejci has done through his playoff career with the Bruins. Krejci may not end up going down as one of the best players in Bruins history, he’s a little too inconsistent in the regular season for that, he’s already cementing himself as one of the best postseason players in club history.
Just consider some of these stats when thinking about Krejci’s place among the Bruins’ top postseason scorers:
- Through 73 career playoff games (through Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals), Krejci has 28 goal and 39 assists for 67 points. Only 10 players in Bruins history have more points than Krejci.
- The 67 points in 73 playoff games gives Krejci .918 points per game.
- That’s a better rate than Bruins legends like Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton, Johnny Bucyk, Wayne Cashman and Brad Park, who all have more career playoff points than Krejci.
- The Bruins are 19-2 in playoff games where Krejci scores a goal. One of those losses was Game 6 of the 2011 Eastern Conference finals where Krejci scored a hat trick in a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay.
- His Game 6 hat trick in the 2011 ECF was the first in Bruins playoff history since 1991. He then scored another playoff hat trick in 2013 against Toronto which included an overtime game-winner.
- Krejci has seven career game-winning goals in the playoffs.
- Krejci scored three game-winning goals in the club’s second-round series with Philadelphia in 2011. He along with Mel Hill (1939) and Roy Conacher (1939) are the only players in Bruins history to score three game-winning goals in one series.
- Krejci’s four game-winning goals in 2011 tied Cam Neely for the most in one postseason.
- Krejci has 16 career multi-point playoff games. The Bruins are 15-1 in those games.
When the lights shine bright, Krejci brings his best. That’s why it’s certainly going to be tough to beat the Bruins when he’s clicking like this. If he and the Bruins can add another Cup, there will be no denying that Krejci (at only 27 years old) truly is one of the premier playoff performers in franchise history.
