Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli met with the media during practice Monday at Ristuccia Arena and revealed that Krejci has sustained a moderate concussion from his collision with St. Louis forward T.J. Oshie on Saturday.
"He sustained a concussion the other night," said Chiarelli. "It's a moderate concussion. They used to grade it by numbers. Now you go mild, moderate and severe. There was no unconsciousness. He was feeling better yesterday and feels a lot better today."
Chiarelli added that Krejci will be reevaluated on Tuesday and will need to pass a neuro-psych test later in the week before a return date can be determined.
"As far as time frame goes, I don't know," said Chiarelli. "But all indications are with one, it being a moderate concussion and two, the way he's feeling. The first two to three days following a concussion are the most critical as far as gauging a prognosis, and he's been good in that time period."
Chiarelli noted that Krejci suffered headaches and "a little bit of amnesia" from the hit but stressed he had no issues with the play that led to Krejci's injury.
"It was just a coincidental hit, an incidental hit," said Chiarelli. "David put himself in that position. Oshie was there. David wanted to hit him at that point. It was just one of those things. I have no issue with the hit."
That's a far cry from the questionable hit from behind by Randy Jones that cost Patrice Bergeron almost the entire 2007-08 season or the blatant cheap shot by Matt Cooke last March that still has Marc Savard sidelined. There was no malicious intent on Oshie's hit, and fortunately the results do not appear anywhere near as serious.
Having gone through those situations in the past, plus with the myriad other injuries Boston endured last season, Chiarelli is confident the Bruins will we able to overcome Krejci's loss.
"The adversity this year is nothing compared to what we dealt with last year," said Chiarelli. "I'd like to think we're kind of hardened that way. I think they've handled it well."
Chiarelli also stated that after weighing the options available, he will not be calling up any reinforcements from Providence to replace Krejci.
"We talked about it," said Chiarelli. "There are a couple of players down there who are playing well. But right now, Danny [Paille] has been champing at the bit. He's been practicing very well and he actually had a strong camp."
