BOSTON — David Krejci found himself in a bit of unfamiliar territory Tuesday night.
The center was slotted into the third line ahead of the Boston Bruins’ game against the Vegas Golden Knights at TD Garden. Krejci had missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury, so Charlie Coyle had taken over the role as second-line center. Head coach Bruce Cassidy liked what he saw from Jake DeBrusk, Coyle and Anders Bjork and decided to continue to roll with it.
And it worked in Boston’s favor.
Krejci scored the game-winner with 7:42 left in the third period to help move Boston to 29-10-12 before heading into its 10-day break. After the win, he didn’t have any complaints about centering Danton Heinen and Karson Kuhlman.
“They’re very smart,” he said. “It’s fun to play with smart guys. They make plays. … I liked it overall. Obviously, (we) always can be better but overall I thought it was a good game. I feel like all three of us are pretty smart on that line. We’ve played together before so we know what to expect from each other. Like I said, they’re smart players, they like to make plays. It doesn’t work all the time but it worked when it mattered tonight and I’m glad we could help the team get a W tonight.”
It remains to be seen if and how Cassidy will mix up the lines when the Bruins return to the ice. But we know if he decides to keep Krejci on the third line that he will see some strong play from his forwards.
