The slick playmaking center suffered an undisclosed injury in practice on Tuesday and did not accompany the team on its trip to Carolina to face the Hurricanes on Wednesday.
An extended absence for Krejci would be a major blow to the defending champs. After all, Krejci tied for the team lead in scoring in the regular season and led the entire league in both goals and points in the postseason. That kind of production is difficult to replace, especially when it comes from a player who also happens to be one of the club's most conscientious defensive forwards.
But if Krejci is sidelined for just a game or two, it could actually prove beneficial in at least one way for the Bruins by giving Claude Julien a chance to look at some of his forwards in different roles. Julien was already contemplating a shakeup of his top line after Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton due to their slow start in the first three games. The trio had managed just one goal (by Krejci) and one assist (by Lucic on that Krejci goal) and were a combined minus-6.
Julien stuck with the combination in practice on Tuesday before Krejci departed, and it's easy to understand why he would give them plenty of leash after their stellar play together in the postseason. And generally, that kind of patience is rewarded when there is a proven track record of success when certain guys play together.
A brief absence for Krejci, however, would create opportunities for other players, particularly a pair of youngsters. Jordan Caron is the most obvious beneficiary, as he will get back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last two games.
Tyler Seguin could benefit even more. He's already been among the team's leaders in ice time among forwards, averaging 15:25 in the first three games. That's up from 12:12 in his rookie season despite playing on the third line with Chris Kelly and either Benoit Pouliot or Caron, thanks largely to increased time on the power play. But Seguin could get a chance to do even more by moving into a top-six role while Krejci is out.
Julien could simply move Seguin up between Lucic and Horton. That would have the benefit of leaving the other three lines that have played well together in early going undisturbed while allowing Seguin to go back to his natural center position.
The Bruins coach may not be ready to put Seguin, who is still learning the defensive aspects of the game, into such a prominent position, but Julien could still move the youngster up to the second line while keeping him at right wing. That move would coincide with newly-extended Rich Peverley, also a natural center, moving to the middle, either on the top line or between Seguin and Brad Marchand with Patrice Bergeron sliding into Krejci's spot between Lucic and Horton.
Either scenario would give the Bruins an opportunity to see what Seguin can do in a more prominent offensive role. With his talent and skill set, Seguin will eventually be taking on such responsibilities on a regular basis. A little taste ahead of schedule could give him some added confidence and also a better idea of the things he still needs to work on to raise his game to that level.
And this is no charity case. Seguin has earned the right to take on a bigger role with his strong play so far this year. He came to camp having bulked up in the offseason and the summer work has been evident in how he has been stronger on the puck and more willing to engage in battles for possession.
In some ways, the most significant indication of his growth in these early games was the one moment Seguin would probably wish to forget. That came when he was blasted with a huge hit along the boards by Colorado defenseman Ryan Wilson on Monday. The Bruins don't want to see their talented young forward leveled like that often, but the encouraging sign was the fact that he put himself into that dirty area where he rarely ventured as a rookie.
Seguin's growing confidence could also be seen in some of the plays he has attempted to make, most notably the pinpoint stretch pass from his own zone to Marchand at the Philadelphia blue line to set up Boston's first goal of the season. Seguin has a team-high three assists in three games, and none have come on goals by his regular linemates as he also picked up helpers on tallies by Krejci and Daniel Paille.
Now it's time for the Bruins to show a little more confidence in Seguin and give him a chance to play a bigger role while Krejci is sidelined.
