David Krejci had every reason to gloat as he fielded questions Thursday night.
I mean, you would too if you orchestrated the highlight-reel sequence that the veteran pivot put forth against the Sabres — in which he juked Rasmus Dahlin out of his jock and sent Henri Jokiharju on an impromptu Slip-N-Slide off a pair of toe drags before feeding Taylor Hall for a third-period tally.
But Krejci, understated as ever, downplayed the wizardry put forth when the puck was put on his stick.
"You know what — there's not much to it," Krejci said. "I knew Hallsy was going to be there. And, you know, things happen really quick on the ice. I'm glad it worked out."
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Such is par for the course for Krejci — the soft-spoken veteran who is enjoying a much-deserved renaissance (and a newfound wave of appreciation from Bruins fans) now that he's got an upgraded arsenal of wingers at his disposal in Hall and Craig Smith.
Now, granted, even before Krejci was racking up points at a per-game rate with his revamped second (1B?) line, the veteran pivot was still excelling as a key cog in this B's line, tasked with driving a top-six grouping with a pair of forwards in Jake DeBrusk and Nick Ritchie who are — as of Friday — out of the lineup and bumped down to the fourth line, respectively.
But taking the reins of a line that had needed a shot in the arm for YEARS prior to the arrival of Hall and Smith has been one of the many thankless duties that Krejci has carried out during the second half of his tenure in a black-and-gold sweater. It's the type of role that has often led to him drawing the ire of fans due to his contract and the lack of tangible stats to back up his payout, but it's one that has made him immensely appreciated within the locker room and especially to Boston's coaching staff.
“To me, under-appreciated is a good word," Cassidy said of Krejci's reputation within the Boston sports market. "I think there’s a lot of knowledgeable people in the New England hockey market — and people I talk too outside of here, quite honestly, people from Canada, friends back home, they really appreciate what David brings. Other people, less so because he’s not maybe as dynamic looking as the Marchys and the Pastas. He’s not on the penalty kill anymore, so he doesn’t get some of what Bergy gets, the shorties and the 200-foot game.
“But I think what’s really under-appreciated with Krech, there’s a couple of things, he’s a great teammate, he really is. He’s low maintenance, he’s trying to make people around him better. And the second part is his defensive game, his game away from the puck is really solid. He’s very positionally sound, probably could be a penalty killer, we’ve just went different directions over the years and even before I got here in terms of using other people, building other people into that role. And that’s David, he’s quiet about it. He’s going to accept responsibility for whatever you put him out there or whatever situation, he’s a guy that probably could’ve handled more.
“So, no, I don’t put it on his contract. If other people do, that’s certainly their opinion, I think it’s just that he’s more a quieter guy, goes about his business. You don’t see him a lot in front of the media … Probably kind of a shy guy, answers the questions and moves on. Some of that is just how he handles himself, as well. He's not a guy trumpeting himself or looking for extra attention, but I think people in hockey truly appreciate what he does, how good he’s been for the Bruins and what he’s meant to this team."
Of course, now that we're officially in the "Krejci-ssance" (I'll take the royalties when the T-shirts get printed and sold on the corner of Causeway and Canal), it seems as though any ill tidings regarding Krejci's game have dissipated — and all of the criticisms of his *slower* start to the 2021 campaign (still 23 points in his first 35 games) have been put in the past.
But let's not get it twisted here. Yeah, maybe he wasn't scoring at the clip that some fans weren't happy with, given his pay (which, based on the current market - is certainly in line with his production, but alas). But Krejci had been delivering for this team in 2021 far before his new line was assembled — especially when it comes to his defensive ability.
Of course, when you've got a four-time Selke Trophy winner higher up on the depth chart in Patrice Bergeron, you're going to get overlooked a bit when it comes to your two-way acumen. But even when Krejci and Co. weren't generating even-strength offense at the same rate they are now, opponents were having an even tougher go of it down the other end of the ice.
In total, during the 604:34 of 5v5 ice time that Krejci has logged this season, the Bruins have scored 23 5v5 goals — and only relinquished 11. Among a pool of 572 NHLers (min. 300 minutes of 5v5 ice time), Krejci ranks sixth overall with a goals against per 60 minutes rate of just 1.09.
Now, it should be noted that Krejci is aided in some respects by being handed more O-zone reps (64.75% of his 5v5 faceoffs have come in the offensive zone), but for as good as Krejci is when it comes to positioning and controlling pace and tempo with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone — those traits also pay dividends down the opposite end of the sheet.
(For reference on Micah Blake McCurdy’s individual impact charts via Hockey Viz — On the offensive side of things, you’d want to see a player providing positive numbers — with the red blobs signifying where the team is generating a majority of their shots from whenever said player is on the ice. Defensively, negative numbers are a sign that a team is snuffing out opposing scoring chances whenever said player is on the ice. As such, the blue blobs represent where the opposition’s shots aren’t regularly coming from. As seen above, opponents aren't generating a ton of excess shots right around Boston's net when Krejci is on the ice.)