The goal, a power-play strike at 17:53 of the first period, actually appeared like it would make a game out of Friday’s contest as it pulled Boston within one at 2-1 heading into the first intermission. Detroit had other ideas, and scored four unanswered goals the rest of the way, but Krejci’s tally at least had some personal significance, as it was his first goal in 21 games.
“I kind of thought for a little bit that it’s a 2-1 game, we still had a chance and I finally scored a goal,” Krejci said. “So I felt a little better, but then it just happened so quick again. The first couple shifts in the second period they score.”
Krejci was as frustrated as the rest of his teammates at the way the Bruins played on Friday, but he did at least take a little solace in ending his longest drought since it took him 43 games in the league before scoring his first career goal on Feb. 26, 2008 against Ottawa.
“Of course I wanted to get a goal,” Krejci said. “It’s been a while. But I didn’t put any extra pressure on myself because of that. Obviously I’m happy I scored. I guess that’s the only positive thing I can take from this game.”
While goals have been hard to come by for Krejci, his overall play has been solid. He had 14 assists and was a plus-6 in the 20 games he went without a goal, including eight assists in the seven games before the Detroit debacle.
“I think we had been winning lately and I was getting my points too,” Krejci said. “They were just assists, but as long as I was getting those, some of them were even garbage assists, but I was getting more comfortable lately.”
Krejci’s renewed comfort comes at a time when the Bruins need him most, as fellow center Marc Savard has been shut down for the season after suffering another concussion last month. Krejci has risen to the challenge, as his current run of 1-8-9 totals over the last eight games began the night Savard went down in Colorado.
Krejci has always shown a knack for coming up big when needed most. He has 7-14-21 totals in 27 career playoff games. That was after scoring 41 points in 27 postseason games with Gatineau in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and 16 points in 13 playoff games with Boston’s American Hockey League affiliate in Providence in 2007.
Krejci’s postseason NHL numbers include a 4-4-8 line in nine games last year when he was arguably Boston’s most important player. His loss for the rest of the postseason after suffering a wrist injury in Game 3 against the Flyers was the turning point of that series. The Bruins didn’t win again as Philadelphia mounted its historic comeback from three games down with four straight wins over the Krejci-less Bruins.
Bruins coach Claude Julien appreciates Krejci’s ability to raise his game at big moments, but would still like to see him do it more consistently.
“That’s something you should ask him,” Julien said when asked about Krejci clutch play in big games. “I’d like him to elevate it all the time. It’s something that I think he strives to be consistent, and I think he’s a good player, but he’s got the ability to be a great player. When he’s given that challenge he seems to rise to that occasion.”
Those comments came before Wednesday’s game with Montreal, and Krejci appears to have gotten the less-than-subtle message. He collected three assists and was a plus-5 in a wild 8-6 win over the Habs that night, then finally added a goal on Friday.
Krejci is back between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton and that line combined to collect 11 points and go plus-15 against Montreal, with Horton also picking up the primary assist on Krejci’s goal against Detroit. That line was Boston’s best early in the season, and the Bruins need it clicking again to complement the surprising trio of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi, who have carried the offense of late.
There wasn’t much to like about Friday’s frustrating performance, but seeing Krejci find a way to end his goal-scoring drought and continue to create some offense does at least provide a sliver lining to the dark cloud hanging over the team, as it heads into Detroit on Sunday looking for some redemption against the Red Wings.
