Krejci feels good after return
If you’re looking for a kernel of good news regarding the Bruins, here it is. David Krejci practiced yesterday.
OK, it doesn’t seem like much, but in the last couple of weeks when the team has seen its blue line pounded by injuries, it will have to do. Krejci, who missed the first two games of the series against the Ottawa Senators with a mysterious upper body injury, admitted he was a little curious to see how he’d feel when he woke up yesterday after playing in Game 3 Monday night.
“A little bit. But things like that you can’t control. But more than anything you just think about the game. But it’s a new day. I feel good, feeling good about the practice and I’m ready to go for (Game 4 tonight),” Krejci said. “I felt good so why not? It was a good practice, short, hard. I felt like that’s what I needed.”
The Bruins need a healthy and effective Krejci. As one might expect, he was slow to warm on Monday, but played better in the second and third periods. Part of that was a product of him feeling more confident with his health as the game went on. It also didn’t hurt that he was reunited with David Pastrnak in the second period.
“I thought for the second and third period we had lots of good scoring chances,” Krejci said. “Obviously it’s always fun playing with him. But in the playoffs, it’s not too much about fun. You go out there and work hard every shift. In the playoffs, it doesn’t really matter who you play with.”
Having a second scoring line is vital for the Bruins’ future. The Senators have been keying on stopping the top line, which when Krejci was out was top heavy with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak. The Sens been doing a pretty good job at it, too, as Bergeron has been held to one power-play goal and Marchand one evenstrength goal, albeit the Game 1 winner.
Krejci started with David Backes on his right Monday, but Backes was later flipped with Pastrnak. When up and running at full speed, the Krejci-Pastrnak pairing, usually with Drew Stafford operating on his off wing, is something opponents must contend with.
“(Krejci) is a big-game player,” said interim coach Bruce Cassidy. “In the playoffs, he’s had a great history in the Cup runs. You’ve got to live in the moment, but you hope that will come through for you. He’s one of the guys that we’ll rely on, so it’s good to see him back out there today. We need his play. He’s a leader for us and a good player.”
Not quick on draw
The B’s can usually count on having success on faceoffs, but the Sens hold a 87-77 edge so far. Even Bergeron is one draw under .500 (35-36).
“You can win draws by committee. It’s not always the centermen,” Cassidy said. “They can certainly win them clean, but other times you’ve got to get in there and win the loose pucks. That was part of the issue (Monday). Faceoffs in general will tell you about your team, whether they’re winning pucks or not because you’ve got to step inside and help win those. They won the pucks early in the game and we won them as they went along. That’s why we got back in the game.”
Target on his back
Before the series started, Cassidy was asked if he thought Marchand, coming off a two-game suspension for spearing Tampa Bay’s Jake Dotchin in the groin, would be singled out by the referees for his past transgressions. Cassidy said he hoped and suspected Marchand would get a fair shake.
But with what’s transpired so far, the question had to be asked again. In Game 1, Marchand was called for a very soft holding penalty. In Game 3, he was whistled for crosschecking Bobby Ryan, something that might not have been called on every player in the league. Also, Ottawa defenseman Marc Methot was allowed to take a free punch at Marchand — one every bit as hard as the Riley Nashline penalty that decided the game — and there was no call.
“The one (Monday), he did hit a player and Ryan fell to the ice,” Cassidy said with a shrug. “I don’t know. The ref calls it, it’s a split second. . . . I didn’t have as much of a beef with that one as I did the last one (against Nash). Will he have a target on his back? I think Marchie will always have that, to a certain extent, because he’s that onthe- player. But I think there are some outstanding referees there that will use their best judgment to call it as they would for any other player. That’s what we hope we’ll get. Just make the right call. If it’s a penalty on Joe Blow, then it’s a penalty on him, not because he’s wearing 63 for the Black and Gold. That’s all I want. If it’s a penalty, it’s a penalty. But let’s not single out a guy because of his previous history.” . . .
Colin Miller (lower body) continued to skate with the team and was with Matt Grzelcyk on a fourth pair. Of the four injured defensemen, he’s the closest to returning. Brandon Carlo (upper body) skated on his own but Cassidy termed him doubtful for Game 4. Adam McQuaid (upper body) and Torey Krug (lower body) remained off the ice.