This is David Krejci’s time to shine.
The 33-year-old center matched a career high with 73 points in 81 games this season, having only sat out the Boston Bruins’ regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And as the Bruins’ gear up to play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season, Krejci’s importance to Boston’s success in the postseason cannot be overstated.
While Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak likely will take center stage against the Leafs, it’s pretty common knowledge that when the Bruins play well in the postseason, Krejci is matching that production.
And his teammates know that. Linemate Jake DeBrusk coined it “Playoff Krech.”
” ‘Playoff Krech’ is the Krech I grew up watching, the one all Bruins fans know and love,” DeBrusk told the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy. “What I mean by that is whenever we need him, or I need him or whenever somebody needs to get leaned on, he comes to play, he makes the exceptional play at the right times. He’s a proven playoff performer. And when he does something sick, when he’s weaving out there, that’s Playoff Krech. It’s pretty special.”
And that was the case long before DeBrusk was playing on his flank. In the Bruins’ runs to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011 and 2013, the pivot posted league-high point totals in both stretches, notching 23 points in the Bruins’ Cup win in 2011 and 26 points in 2013.
The Bruins are hoping that Krejci’s regular-season production is an indicator of what is to come in his tenth trip to the postseason.
“I think David is an underlying MVP to our season, to be honest with you, really a catalyst for our group this year,” general manager Don Sweeney said. “Might not have gotten the prime attention that several other players deserved and merited, but very consistent year for David, start-to-finish. You’re seeing the development of Jake DeBrusk, and the year that he had, and David, a lot can be attributed to that. His numbers are not tilted toward power play, he ran the second unit. Certainly, stepped in when Patrice was out. And it’s a lot of what David expects of himself.”
It won’t be an easy matchup against the Maple Leafs, who stack up pretty soundly down the middle. But if history is any indication, the Bruins are in good shape if Krejci is on his game.
