Krejci, Nash Developing Instant Chemistry

BOSTON - David Krejci was quite pleased with his performance on Thursday night. After all, his fourth-career hat trick helped pace the Bruins to a scintillating 8-4 win over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden.
On his first goal, Krejci connected once again with Rick Nash, finishing a silky backhanded feed from the newly acquired winger to set off a first-period barrage. It was a hook up more commonly executed by longtime teammates, rather than a duo that has been together for just three games. But the partnership has fostered quickly, and with the help of Jake DeBrusk has built a dangerous second trio behind Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron - once the latter returns from injury.

Nevertheless, Krejci believes there is still plenty of room for growth. And for the remaining opponents on the Bruins' schedule, that should be a scary thought.
"He's a great player. I'm obviously happy to be on his line," Krejci said of Nash. "We had a good game, so hopefully we can build on that and be even better next game."
That will be hard to do.
In the three games since Nash was acquired from the New York Rangers, the triumvirate of Nash (2-1-3), Krejci (3-1-4), and DeBrusk (0-3-3) has combined for five goals and five assists. With Bergeron sidelined by a fractured right foot, it has been a welcome show of offensive force.
And it is exactly what Bruins general manager Don Sweeney envisioned when he pulled the trigger on the massive deal on Sunday morning. Krejci has always thrived with a power-forward type flanking him. And the 6-foot-4, 211-pound Nash perfectly fits that description.
"David had some of his best years here playing with [Milan Lucic] and [Nathan] Horton and [Jarome] Iginla, so he is used to having big, heavy guys who will get to the net," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "No disrespect to Ryan Spooner, because we asked him to do something out of his comfort zone - I thought he did a good job. But we said this before; he wasn't going to grow six inches here.
"Jake is doing a good job with that. He has a lot of Nash's attributes - not as big a man, obviously - but he does like to get to the net, and he has good foot speed. [Krejci's] now got two wingers that have some similar traits that he seems to excel with…so it's been a good marriage so far."

Nash, who has landed five shots on goal in each of his three games in Black & Gold, was flattered by the comparisons, particularly with Lucic.
"I don't know if I could play as hard as that guy plays, as tough as him," said Nash. "He's obviously one of the best power forwards in the league, so it's nice coming from him. But when he was here, the team was unbelievable and they are having an unbelievable year this year. Anything I can do to help with the team on that line, I am going to try to do."
The 33-year-old has certainly delivered so far, and helped jumpstart the Bruins on Thursday night. After surrendering a goal to Ollia Maatta just 35 seconds into the game, Boston got going shortly thereafter thanks to some strong work from the Krejci-Nash connection.
Zdeno Chara started the breakout by carrying the puck up the wall and zipped a pass over to Nash as he soared down the right wing. Nash paused slightly as he crossed over into the Pittsburgh zone before flicking a backhand pass across the slot to Krejci, who was busting hard to the net.
Krejci tapped home the feed as he crashed into Pittsburgh goalie Casey DeSmith and landed in the crease to tie the game, 1-1, just 1:10 after the Penguins opened the scoring.
"[Nash's] good," said Krejci. "He took the puck tonight, he's got a big body and can skate really well, so trying to get a feel of what he can do and try to find that spot and get an idea of where he puts the puck, so it's getting better."

Krejci's first marker of the night set off a wild opening 20 minutes, during which the Bruins and Penguins combined for eight goals. Boston ended the frame up, 5-3, setting the tone for a monster second period from Krejci.
The 31-year-old Czech native helped the Bruins open up an 8-3 advantage with two power-play goals in the middle period. The first came just 2:16 in, after DeBrusk dug a loose puck out along the wall and fed Nick Holden at the point. Holden, making his Bruins debut, then whipped a pass to Krejci at the left post, where the center flipped it home.
Krejci finished off his hat trick with 5:27 remaining in the second when Brian Gionta - also making his Bruins debut - redirected a Charlie McAvoy shot across the top of the crease. Krejci was waiting at the backdoor to bank it past Tristan Jarry and secure his first hat trick since 2014.
"I like to make plays," said Krejci, known for his elite passing abilities. "But I like to think I have a good shot, so might as well use it."
Nash also added a power-play goal in the first period, giving the Bruins a 3-for-4 night on the man advantage. Boston had been 0 for 18 over their previous six games.
"A couple different looks," said Krejci. "Sometimes you're just wandering in the O-zone and you get loose, that's what happened. Holden made a great play on my open-net goal…we moved the puck, took easy shots, crashed the net. You get rewarded sometimes."

On the whole, it was four more goals for Boston's new dynamic duo.
"Rick is a great player and a big body, so gives a lot of space and ice for Krech, you know," said David Pastrnak, who added two goals of his own in the win. "Krech is an unbelievable player on pucks, so glad that those two guys found chemistry the last couple games, and hopefully we're just going to keep getting better."
And that's a scary thought.