Krejci Connecting With Bruins Top Line

BOSTON - David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand are goal scorers, plain and simple. Get them the puck and most of the time they'll take care of the rest.
Patrice Bergeron - a gifted scorer in his own right - knows this as well as anybody. But with the Bruins' No. 1 center sidelined by injury, Boston's top wingers needed someone to help them navigate through the extended absence of their partner in crime.
In an effort to balance his offense, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was hesitant to load up his top trio by adding David Krejci to the mix. But an injury to Jake DeBrusk, which has caused him to miss the last three games, opened up an opportunity to play his best three offensive players together.

While it was not the smoothest of starts, the chemistry between the three has continued to grow with each passing game. And on Tuesday night, when the Bruins needed them the most, their connection was perfection.
Down a pair entering the second period, the Bruins exploded for four consecutive goals over a span of 4 minutes, 50 seconds - with three of the tallies coming from their new first line of Pastrnak, Marchand, and Krejci - en route to a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes at TD Garden.
"Obviously it took a couple games," said Pastrnak, who tied the game, 2-2, with his 21st of the season. "Today, all we needed to do was drive to the net with Krech…he's a great playmaker. It [was] fun tonight."

Overall, the triumvirate combined for nine points, with the three second-period goals looking like this on the scoresheet:
9:13 | Pastrnak (Marchand, Krejci)11:31 | Marchand (Pastrnak, Krejci)13:30 |Marchand (Krejci, Pastrnak)
But to Marchand and Pastrnak, it was Krejci - playing in his 800th career game - who made the line go. The 32-year-old pivot, twice the NHL's leading playoff scoring, picked up helpers on all three goals, with each play prettier than the next.
"He's pass-first player, pass-second player, third, and then he shoots," Pastrnak quipped. "[Marchand and I] love to play with Bergy and Krech, who always look to make the plays and then try to look for the guys, so it's fun…it's fun to play with him - 800 games today, so he's been here for a long time and [the recognition is] well deserved."

Krejci has been teammates with Marchand for a decade and with his countryman Pastrnak for nearly five years, but has never played significant time on the same line with either, making the last couple of weeks a pleasure for the 13-year NHL veteran.
"It's been fun. Those are two world-class players, so I'm just happy to be on that line and happy to help the team win games," said Krejci, who during Saturday's win over Toronto moved past Cam Neely into 10th place on the Bruins all-time scoring list (now with 596 career points).
"We're just working hard, and they make lots of skilled plays out there, so they kind of make it easy on you. I've just got to be at the right time at the right place, and the puck will find you."

The Czech native is now riding a four-game points streak, with two goals and five assists during that time, elevating him into a tie with Bergeron for third on the Bruins with 26 points (4 goals, 22 assists) in 31 games this season.
"Krech is such a good player, the way he sees the ice and the plays he makes," said Marchand, who reached the 10-goal mark for the year with his two against the Coyotes. "It's great to be able to connect on a few and it's fun to win, so we're enjoying it right now…Pasta and I both know that we just have to get open. Krech is going to find us. That showed today. He made a few really nice passes."
It's the work Krejci is doing away from the puck, however, that has impressed Cassidy. With Bergeron out of the lineup, having a 200-foot centerman that can ease the defensive burden on Marchand and Pastrnak and still make plays at the offensive end has been crucial, particularly during the Bruins' current three-game win streak.
"He makes nice plays, creative plays. He's going to enjoy the game," said Cassidy. "I've noticed in the rest of his game he's digging in. He knows he has to be a good defensive center for those guys. They're creative wingers that will leak out of their spots from time to time to anticipate a play…that's when Bergy's so good at putting out those fires.
"That's the part I'm enjoying, as a guy that gets down to the nuts and bolts, is the defensive part of it. I think he's doing a nice job of not abandoning that part of the game and just trying to trade chances."

Despite all of their recent success of late, Krejci is actually looking forward to his time as the No. 1 center coming to an end. When Bergeron, who is back skating on his own, is ready to return to game action, Krejci will be more than happy to cede the spot to his longtime teammate.
"Just filling in for Bergy…obviously, can't wait for [him] to be back," said Krejci. "We need our best players to be in the lineup. But at the same time, this is what we've got, and you've just got to grind it out."