The Boston Bruins are among the best teams in the NHL, and it’s easy to see why. The B’s are talented, deep and well-coached, cementing them as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders as the 2018-19 regular season winds down.
ESPN released another edition of its power rankings Wednesday — prior to the Bruins’ 6-3 win over the New York Rangers at TD Garden — and Boston landed in the No. 2 spot for the second straight week, trailing only the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning entered Thursday with 122 points in the standings, while the Bruins own the NHL’s second-best record with 103 points.
ESPN’s power rankings typically include a theme within the blurbs, and this week’s piece looked at the “Hidden MVP” for each team across the NHL.
Basically, ESPN highlighted players who have played an important role in their team’s fate, even if they haven’t received a ton of recognition, and the Bruins’ “Hidden MVP” is a grizzled veteran: David Krejci.
Here’s what ESPN wrote about Krejci’s season:
For being the second-best team in the Eastern Conference this season, the Bruins have had their share of injury adversity. The constant has been Krejci, who not only hasn’t missed a game in 2018-19 but has posted his best offensive season (0.86 points per game) since 2016.
The Bruins’ star-studded trio of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak typically receives most of the credit for Boston’s offensive prowess, but Krejci has been sneaky good this season relative to expectations after a couple of down years.
The 32-year-old entered Thursday with 19 goals and 48 assists for 67 points while playing in all of the Bruins’ 77 games to date. It’s hard to argue with ESPN’s lofty praise.
