BOSTON, Mass. — David Krejci returned to the Boston Bruins’ lineup Tuesday night after missing the last five games with an upper-body injury, but it didn’t seem like the veteran center missed a beat
Krejci had a goal and an assist in the B’s 5-1 victory over the San Joe Sharks, making his presence on the TD Garden ice known in nearly 20 minutes of ice time. He did take one penalty in the second, which lead to San Jose’s lone goal of the evening, but the rest of his night was stellar.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy had plenty of praise for Krejci after the game.
“Well, I think he can drive a line when he’s going. And we didn’t necessarily expect him to do that tonight. He’s missed time,” Cassidy said. “But that’s what we want out of David. He’s a pro. He’s been around. He’s a Stanley Cup Champion. Like, we need him to pull that line along. He’s got a constant in (Jake) DeBrusk and whoever’s on the other side. We’ve had a lot of discussions individually, myself and David, about different guys maybe in there. But we’ve asked him to … just drive the line. If there’s really a poor fit, let’s talk about it. Otherwise, you might see some different players (on the line).
“So that’s what we want him to do,” Cassidy added. “Because … (Bergeron’s) line is going to get neutralized — it doesn’t look that way now, but we know it’s going to happen — so, then you need some other guys going. …Â Things are shaping up upfront.”
While the Bruins were red-hot during Krejci’s brief absence, his presence certainly was missed on the ice. And considering he’s just coming off an upper-body injury, rest is still key for the 33-year-old.
“There’s a little catchup involved, and I’m sure he’ll go through that,” Cassidy said. “But the good thing for him is he’ll get a few more days now to sort of get his leg back under him. The schedule is a little bit favorable for a guy coming back that way.
“So good for him. Listen, we need him going. We know that. It was good to get off on the right foot tonight.”
So, how does the man of the hour feel about his performance?
“Scoring a goal in the first period always helps. But honestly, it was just so good to be out there with the guys,” Krejci said. “They’ve been playing some really good hockey lately, and I just wanted to be part of it.”
Here are some more notes from Tuesday’s Bruins-Sharks game:
— David Pastrnak’s point streak continues.
The winger netted his 12th goal of the season in the first period, ending his one-game goal drought with one flick of the wrist.
Pasta currently leads the Bruins with 23 points.
— Brad Marchand’s point streak was extended, as well.
The winger notched an assist on Krejci’s first-period goal. He now has 20 points on the season, second only to Pastrnak.
— The hometown boys had themselves a night, as well.
Charlie Coyle and Chris Wagner both scored in the second, doubling the Bruins’ score in the process. Coyle, a Weymouth, Mass., native, potted Boston’s third goal of the night less than six minutes into the period.
Wagner, a Walpole, Mass., native, notched his goal just three minutes later. It was his first goal of the season.
— The Bruins power play maintained its dominance.
Boston scored twice (Pastrnak, Krejci) on the man-advantage, both coming in the first period. The B’s went on the power play eight times Tuesday night.
Cassidy sees currently the power play as a momentum-builder, especially in front of a home crowd.
“I think at home when it’s on, it looks good so you get the fans into the game. So there’s a lot of positives, our guys feed off of that,” he said. “They like watching good plays too, so they get excited for them. It’s typically the first group but tonight I thought the second unit did their part too, throwing it around.”
