Another scoring milestone secured, David Krejci continues to carve out legacy as one of Bruins' most unsung stars

It's only natural to toss out some qualifiers following Boston's by-the-book 4-1 victory over the lowly Sabres on Thursday night.

Yes, Boston managed to string consecutive wins for the first time since Feb. 1 - 12. And yes, Boston's second line of David Krejci, Jake DeBrusk and Craig Smith put together arguably their best game as a trio — with Krejci helping to orchestrate three goals, two coming off the sticks of his wingers.

Still ... it waaaaas against the Sabres. You know, the franchise mired in a 13-game losing streak that, as Jack Edwards so eloquently described it, is stuck in its "fourth 5-year plan in 6 years.” Wooof.

But on a night in which Krejci became just the eighth Bruin in franchise history to accrue 700 points in a black-and-gold sweater, you very well could have tossed out qualifiers on the opposite side of the coin. Because, frankly, the fact that the 34-year-old center has managed to hit that scoring milestone in spite of the lack of stability (and consistent faces) to his right and left each season is quite remarkable.

Even though the 2021 campaign perhaps hasn't been as fruitful as some fans might have expected when it comes to Krejci's production — especially outside of power-play reps — this COVID-19 campaign has followed a similar narrative of years past, in which Boston has shuffled numerous skaters around the pivot in order to try and give that second line some scoring punch.

For years, Krejci's playmaking prowess was properly utilized when paired alongside premier power forwards or proven snipers — whether that be the highly effective Lucic-Krejci-Horton triumvirate or the potent partnership he formed with Jarome Iginla in his lone season with Boston. But since that 2013-14 season, it's been far from a guarantee for Krejci when it comes to gaining traction with a regular cast and crew.

The following year (2014-15) Krejci was part of 10 (!) different forward lines that logged at least 15 minutes of 5v5 ice time together — led by a combination featuring Milan Lucic and Seth Griffith as his wingers. Yeesh.

In 2015-16, Krejci was part of seven different forward lines with that same amount of ice time.

2016-17? A whopping 17 (!!) different forward combinations with at least 15 minutes of ice time — with most of those reps doled out alongside wingers like David Backes, Ryan Spooner, Frank Vatrano, Matt Beleskey and Drew Stafford. Woof.



2017-18? 14 different line combinations.

2018-19? 14 once again.

2019-20? 12 line combos through 70 games played.

And so far this season, Krejci has been the man in the middle of five different lines with at least 15 minutes of 5v5 action together — with the DeBrusk-Krejci-Smith combination serving as the latest mix that Bruce Cassidy hopes will spark more consistent scoring out of that top-six unit.

But despite that lack of stability — and proven goal scorers beyond, say, DeBrusk, Smith (in a small sample size this year) and perhaps Rick Nash back in 2018 (another unfortunately small sample size thanks to Cedric Paquette) — Krejci posted the following point totals in those six full seasons.

2014-15: 31 points in 47 games
2015-16: 63 points in 72 games
2016-17: 54 points in 82 games
2017-18: 44 points in 64 games
2018-19: 73 points in 81 games
2019-20: 43 points in 61 games

That's pretty damn impressive — with Thursday's win in Buffalo showcasing just how effective Krejci can be when he's on his game and conducting the offense with the puck on his stick.

"It means he's had longevity, obviously you have a lot of different wingers, right? So that's one thing and it's been the ask of him here is to just pull whoever's on your line along," Bruce Cassidy said of Krejci's history of driving multiple lines. "And obviously there's always adjusting to everybody's game and Krech plays a little bit of a unique game in that way. He likes to slow the game down at times then pick up the pace, so guys have to read off him in that regard. But he is going to get you the puck if you're a scorer, eventually. So that's the one read you have to make off of him if you're a shooter — find the open ice and be ready when he's ready to dish it. That's Kretch's best attributes — his puck skills, his poise, his vision."

Those talents were on full display Thursday, with Krejci making mince-meat of the Sabres' lax and lifeless PK and overall D-zone structure. It was a much-needed breakthrough for Krejci and his linemates, with Krejci's quick feed to Smith in the second period leading to an even-strength tally that all involved on the sequence had long craved — with Smith stuck at just one tally in his previous 18 games before finally breaking through at KeyBank Center.

Even though Smith was envisioned as a shot-first compliment on Charlie Coyle's line, the veteran has strung together some encouraging games with Krejci — with Boston holding a 3-1 edge in 5v5 goals scored when that duo has been on the ice together this season.


"He's a great player," Smith said of Krejci. "He's able to slow it down. He's one of the smartest players I've played with as far as talking to me on the bench and the little plays that he sees out there that guys in the past that I've played with haven't been able to see, so it's been impressive ... "I mean, (Roman) Josi, he was able to find pockets and find passing lanes that I think for the most part, most of league, it's hard to see. (Krejci's) got a great shot. He's got great hands, he's good in the circle. He opens up a lot of area for players like myself."

With 702 career points, Krejci now finds himself in some esteemed company — with only Ray Bourque, John Bucyk, Phil Esposito, Rick Middleton, Patrice Bergeron, Bobby Orr and Wayne Cashman tallying more points in a Bruins jersey.

And yet, despite reaching such a lofty milestone, Krejci shrugged off any individual accolades during his postgame TV spot. 

"There's more important things right now in life," Krejci said. We're just happy that we get to play hockey."

It remains to be seen how much longer Krejci will be playing hockey — at least in a black-and-gold sweater. 

So relish it, Bruins fans —  before it's too late. Because what Krejci has managed to accomplish, while dragging a carousel of wingers alongside him for years now, is awfully impressive.