Kessel

BOSTON — Center David Krejci and winger Phil Kessel, two of the Boston Bruins’ up-and-coming offensive stars, are both headed for offseason surgeries that will postpone the start of their 2009-10 season.

Krejci played the entire season with a balky right hip, that he says probably got worse over the last four or five years. Kessel suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum when he was hit by Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda March 10. Both stars are expected to need at least four to six months to recover.

Still, Krejci was the Bruins’ second-leading scorer with 73 points and Kessel led the team with 36 goals. But both were obviously limited by the time they got to the seven-game,  second-round defeat to Carolina. (more…)

Krejci

WILMINGTON, Mass. — As they prepare for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Bruins, the Carolina Hurricanes now have something added to their scouting report on David Krejci: a between the legs pass that would make “Magic” Johnson envious.

Krejci unveiled his fancy feed early in last night’s Game 6, as it set up Steve Montador for the goal that put the Bruins ahead, 2-0. They went on to win, 4-2, to force tomorrow’s do-or-die contest.

“I didn’t have the room to get a shot or something. So I tried to do the best thing I could,” Krejci said today after the Bruins’ off-ice workout at Ristuccia Arena. “And I tried to get the puck to Monty. He had the room in front of him and he made a good shot. (Byron) Bitz was in front of the net screening the goalie.” (more…)

Ryder

During his second year of junior hockey with Gatineau of the QMJHL, Boston Bruins center David Krejci lived with a teammate from Newfoundland.

From what he can recall, that arrangement worked out fine. Little did the Czech Republic native know that his interaction with a player from that province would get even better once he established himself in the NHL. Michael Ryder has proven to be the perfect fit on Krejci’s right wing this season, most recently during a five-game playoff run that’s featured Ryder piling up nine points (five goals) and Krejci registering six points (three goals).

“I think it’s just the fact that David is a pretty creative player and he likes to set up players,” said head coach Claude Julien today after the Bruins practiced in Wilmington, Mass. “And Michael’s a shooter and he likes to get out in the open and take those shots. At the same time, he’s also a guy that’s pretty strong along the boards protecting the puck and that kind of stuff. So I think the two of them complement each other very well.” (more…)

WILMINGTON, Mass. — During the Boston Bruins’ four-game sweep of their season series with the Carolina Hurricanes during the regular season, two players stood out on offense more than any of the other skaters in black and gold.

Center David Krejci led the team with seven points (three goals) and consistent linemate Blake Wheeler chipped in with five points (three goals) against the Hurricanes. While they probably won’t be on the same line for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series tomorrow night against the Hurricanes, both are hoping to continue their regular-season scoring touch against the conference’s sixth seed.

“It’s just one of those things. In the regular season, I didn’t do well against Montreal. And in the playoffs the same thing. But I don’t know what it is,” said Wheeler today after practice at Ristuccia Arena when asked about his success against Carolina. “It’s just sometimes you find yourself producing against different teams for different reasons. I don’t know why, the puck just seemed to find the net for me and (Krejci) as well.

“Hopefully it continues this round. It’d be great to be able to contribute and we’ll just see what happens. Obviously there’s a lot of ways to contribute in the playoffs so I guess that’s one way.” (more…)

Wideman

BOSTON — The first two minutes of Game 1 of last spring’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between Boston and Montreal at Bell Centre were two minutes members of the Bruins would like forget. Unfortunately, stuff like that has a way of sticking in one’s mind.

I asked Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman, who made his NHL playoff debut in that game, how he’s more prepared for Game 1 this time around. And his thoughts went round and round before landing on the pain that was that opening two minutes.

“I think last year I was — it’s tough to say right now — but I remember in the morning last year before the game I was a lot more nervous last year than I am this year. This year is more excitement and just being ready to go,” he said after the Bruins’ morning skate at TD Banknorth Garden. “I think last year I just didn’t know what to expect. It was the first game and it was in Montreal and how loud it was going to be, I don’t think I knew what to expect — as you could tell. I think they scored two goals in the first two minutes, something like that.” (more…)

Is that Claude Julien in the "cone of silence."

Heading into this weekend’s final two games of the regular season, there are four Boston Bruins with a chance to appear in all 82 contests for the club this season.

So will they get the chance?

“I’m under the ‘cone of silence,’” head coach and obvious “Get Smart” fan Claude Julien responded today when asked about the chance we’ll see Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard, Mark Stuart and David Krejci close out the season without a missing a date.

But on a serious note, Julien said he’s going to take it game by game, and the addition of Vladimir Sobotka and Mikko Lehtonen from Providence (AHL) and the potential return from injury of Dennis Wideman and P.J. Axelsson certainly gives the Bruins’ coach a number of options. (more…)

You watch him play with veteran savvy and the vision of a player wise beyond his years and you forget –  Boston Bruins center David Krejci is only 22 years old.

Krejci is still the Bruins’ second-leading points man with 64 and fourth-leading goal-scorer with 21. But other than a tough-angle goal through Cristobal Huet’s pads March 7,  Krejci hasn’t scored a goal — and only added four assists — in his last 15 games since a one-goal, one-assist game Feb. 17 at Carolina.

However, that’s where Krejci’s maturity comes in. In the past, he might’ve sulked over his lack of production. But now just less than a month from his 23rd birthday and completing his second full NHL season, Krejci has seen the light as far as putting the team first.

“Now is the time of year that you’ve got to sacrifice your (numbers) and you’ve got to do more stuff for the team,” he told TheBruinsBlog.net after practice today in Wilmington, Mass. “At the end of the year, I want to look at the statistics for the team and really win something than to be out of the playoffs and be happy with myself. I don’t want that. So you’ve just got to sacrifice for the team and do those things I don’t like to do. But it’s going to help us.” (more…)

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins should have forwards Phil Kessel and David Krejci back in the lineup tonight when they host the Ottawa Senators at TD Banknorth Garden.

Both players missed practice due to physical ailments yesterday but took part in an optional morning skate today. Kessel, who suffered a left arm injury Tuesday night in Columbus when Jan Hejda bumped him into the wall during a pursuit of a dump-in, declared himself fit and ready to go. As for the hit by Hejda, the speedy winger said:

“Obviously, it didn’t feel great (at the time). But again, it’s part of the game — you get bumps and bruises out there,” he explained.

There was no news on what was ailing Krejci, but he said he’s fit and ready to go. And he knows that in order to break out of his doldrums — one goal in his last 10 games, three in his last 20 — he, like his teammates, have to make things happen around the net. (more…)

Wheeler

Just a couple weeks ago, I was ready to annoint David Krejci’s line — completed by Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler — as the Boston Bruins’ No. 1. But as of right now, that trio can’t claim that status, and not just because Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic have gotten healthy and rejoined Marc Savard.

The numbers right now for what’s generously called the Bruins’ second line are a bit ugly. The rookie Wheeler has popped in just one goal in the club’s last 13 games. Krejci has just one goal (scored on the power play off a defenseman’s leg) in the last eight games. And Ryder, who missed one game with the flu, has just one goal in the last seven outings.

Wheeler, for one, isn’t worried.

“Last week, how many posts did I hit? I hit three last week. It’s just, you know? Sometimes the puck doesn’t go in the net,” the left winger explained after practice today at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass. “Maybe earlier in the season all three of those would’ve gone in. You never know. I gauge myself based on the scoring chances you get. As long as you’re getting chances, what else can you really do?” (more…)

Krejci

Everyone can see that there’s a link between Boston Bruins center David Krejci and winger Blake Wheeler when the two 22-year-old forwards are on the ice together.

Whether they’re skating as two-thirds of a line 5-on-5, hooking up on the power play or even killing a penalty together, both players seem to have a sixth sense that always allows them to find one another. That’s why they’ve been on a line together almost the entire season, and they’ve been a major factor in the Bruins’ tremendous start.

What not many get to see is the way the American and the Czech teammates get along once the skates and sweaters are off. Often kidding around with each other and discussing any number of topics, Krejci and Wheeler have become close friends.

“We have the same girlfriend,” Krejci recently joked when asked why he and Wheeler get along so well. (more…)

Krejci

The Boston Bruins’ penalty kill has been on a roll — having blanked the oppositions’ power plays over each of the last five games heading into today’s showdown with Buffalo at the TD Banknorth Garden.

The kill is a perfect 20-for-20 over that stretch. But the killers aren’t just getting the job done in their own zone, they’re also putting the heat on with offensive pressure. In the last two weeks Blake Wheeler and Martin St. Pierre have netted shorthanded goals for the Bruins. And Wheeler and David Krejci have formed a dangerous duo that clears the zone with ease and then can make things happen at the other end.

“It’s trying to find ice time sometimes for players, and putting them in positions again that they can help your hockey club,” head coach Claude Julien recently said about Krejci and Wheeler getting time on the PK. “And they’ve just seemed to build pretty good chemistry where they do a pretty good job of killing penalties. But they’re also, every game so far lately, they’ve been a threat 4-on-5. They get the puck out and they get some scoring chances as well.”

Krejci

With offensive superstars like Marc Savard and Phil Kessel ahead of him in the Boston Bruins’ line-up, it can be difficult for center David Krejci to get some attention.

Well, if he keeps having weeks like last week, he’ll always be in the same sentence as his more famous cohorts. In three games during the week that ended Dec. 21, Krejci posted 4-3-7 totals and a plus-3 rating. For his efforts, he is the Bruins of the Week. (more…)

Krejci

BOSTON — Center David Krejci’s first NHL hat trick in the Boston Bruins’ 8-5 win over Toronto tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden ignited a swarm of hats to fly onto the ice — albeit with a little delay.

But alas, the second-year forward was not graced by the toss of a bra the way his longtime linemate Blake Wheeler was earlier this season after his first NHL hat trick.

“No, I wasn’t as popular as Blake,” quipped Krejci, continuing to prove that English is catching up to Czech in the race to be his No. 1 language. (more…)

It doesn’t matter if he’s at even strength, on the power play or, like Thursday night in Tampa, killing a penalty — Boston Bruins center David Krejci keeps finding ways to put up points.

During a two-game week that ended today, the Bruins were 2-0-0 and Krejci put up one goal, three assists and a plus-3 rating. For his efforts, Krejci is my Bruin of the Week.

Krejci’s one goal this week was his first shorthanded score of the year, and it was a thing of beauty. He dragged the puck around a sliding defender and then found the back of the net just before he was run into the boards. He recovered well enough to celebrate with his teammates — a familiar sight these days.

Other players who were considered: winger Phil Kessel (3-0-3, plus-2) and defenseman Zdeno Chara (0-1-1, plus-2, great leadership in the face of the club missing three of its top six).

Even Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien has noticed that the best serum for a slumping winger has been to play alongside center David Krejci. (more…)