David Krejci’s Playoff Performance Could Signal Bruins Center Is Ready to Join NHL’s Elite at Position

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Jul 24, 2011

David Krejci's Playoff Performance Could Signal Bruins Center Is Ready to Join NHL's Elite at Position There's no denying David Krejci's talent, or his ability to put his ample skills to productive use.

He proved that this postseason, when the 25-year-old center led the entire league in playoff scoring with 12-11-23 totals in 25 games.

It was an emphatic finish to his first full season as a No. 1 center in the NHL. That's a role that has taken Krejci some time to assume, as previously he had always had the luxury of playing behind a true No. 1 center in Marc Savard.

Even when Krejci put together a career-best 73-point campaign in 2008-09, he did so centering what was arguably Boston's third line with Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder, behind both Savard and Patrice Bergeron.

When Savard missed much of the following season with a string of injuries, Krejci struggled with the added responsibilities and increased attention from opposing defenses. He slipped to just 52 points, though he came up huge in the playoffs before a wrist injury ended his — and soon Boston's — postseason.

But this past year, Savard barely made a cameo appearance as he struggled to return from one devastating concussion, then suffered another. Krejci, meanwhile, found immediate chemistry with newcomer Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic to give the Bruins a legitimate top line again. Krejci boosted his regular-season point total back up to 62, sharing the team lead with linemate Lucic.

But is a 62-point campaign really the stuff of a true No. 1 center, especially when just 12 of those points came on the power play?

Those power-play points ranked Krejci just 45th among centers in the NHL, but his overall points put him in a tie for 20th. Of the 19 centers ahead of him, there were six pairs of teammates. So in reality, just 13 teams had a center with more points than Krejci last year. He might not be among the elite top-line centers in the NHL, at least not quite yet, but the numbers show he's certainly not out of place centering a team's top line.

Of course, there's a lot more that goes into being a No. 1 center than just a player's personal numbers. One key component of the job is the ability to elevate the play of those around you, and few are better at that than Krejci.

Back in 2008-09, he helped Wheeler post career bests in goals (21) and points (45), while Ryder had his best season in Boston with 27 goals and 53 points. Last year in the playoffs, Krejci even got Miroslav Satan going. Satan had 5-5-10 totals in the first nine playoff games playing with Krejci, but did not have another point in the final four games after Krejci was injured.

Lucic was the other member of that productive postseason line, and he benefited from a full year with Krejci this past season as he shattered his career bests with 30 goals and 62 points. Horton, meanwhile, finished with 26 goals, his most since 2007-08.

"He is a special player," Horton said of Krejci during the playoffs. "We want him to have the puck as much as possible and he creates so much off of that and he gives everyone else a chance to score and a chance to be in the play."

Krejci's development into a legitimate No. 1 center can also be seen in the way he raised his own game when it mattered most. After struggling a bit in the opening round with just one point in seven games against Montreal, Krejci caught fire and carried the Bruins offense for much of the rest of the playoffs.

He took his revenge on Philadelphia with 4-5-9 totals in the four-game sweep, including an overtime winner in Game 2, and then added 5-2-7 totals against Tampa and 2-4-6 totals in the Cup Final against Vancouver.

"When David Krejci is playing his best hockey, he's as good as anybody," Bruins coach Claude Julien said during that playoff run. "He's pretty creative, he's smart, he anticipates well, and he makes the big plays. And that's something that we needed in order for our team to move forward here. As every game and every series gets tougher, you want your guys to get better, and he's done that."

Krejci continued to set up his teammates, most notably with the perfect pass to Horton midway through the third period for the lone goal in Boston's dramatic 1-0 win over Tampa in Game 7 of the conference final. But he also proved he could finish plays himself when necessary, scoring 12 goals in 25 playoff games after managing just 13 in 75 games during the regular season.

After finishing 39th and 20th in scoring among centers in the previous two regular seasons, Krejci led all centers — not to mention left wings, right wings and defensemen — in both goals and points this past postseason.

That performance boldly proclaimed his arrival as a bona fide No. 1 center in this league. That's good news for the Bruins as they head into the 2011-12 season looking to defend their title. But it could also lead to a bit of consternation on the club's part in the not-too-distant future. If Krejci proves this year that his postseason performance was just the sign of things to come, the Bruins will have to start paying him like a No. 1 center when his contract expires next summer.

NESN.com Bruins beat writer Douglas Flynn will be answering one question facing the Bruins this offseason each day until Aug. 8.

Saturday, July 23: Can Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference carry their playoff level of play into the new season?

Monday, July 25: Can Claude Julien get Benoit Pouliot to reach his potential?

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