Boston Bruins fans were dealt quite a scare when David Krejci was made a late scratch prior to their Game 3 win over the Florida Panthers.
That's just because they didn't have all of the facts.
Krejci, who missed the final six games of the regular season, appeared ready and rearing to go pregame. He hit the ice for pregame skate in his customary spot behind David Pastrnak, taking part in the full warm up before heading back to the room. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Boston updated its lines to include both Nick Foligno and Jakub Lauko and ruled Krejci out with an upper-body injury.
Weird, right? Not according to Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.
"We knew there was a good chance he wasn't going to play tonight," Montgomery said postgame, per Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic.
Though he did play in the first two games of the series at TD Garden, Krejci showed a clear drop off in production between them. The 36-year-old assisted on a goal in Game 1 and registered one hit and one block, before putting up a goose egg in Game 2 and finishing as a minus-three. The injury that kept him sidelined over the final two weeks of the regular season wasn't enough to stop him from taking the ice once the Stanley Cup playoffs began, but clearly hasn't just disappeared.
Montgomery doesn't have a certain answer as to when Krejci will return, just like he doesn't with captain Patrice Bergeron, but stated Friday night that he believed the Czechia native has a "50-50" chance at playing in Game 4, according to Shinzawa.
The fact that Krejci traveled to FLA Live Arena and Bergeron didn't should tell you that the B's bench boss is telling the truth.
So, why did Krejci go through the whole song and dance before eventually making his way upstairs to watch the game? Well, the Bruins could have just been displaying some all-world gamesmanship. They could have also been preparing for a case where Krejci felt good enough to take the ice. Either way, there's no sense in guessing now, as the game is over and the Bruins are one step closer to capping of their historic season with the ultimate prize.
