Bruce Cassidy doesn’t think David Krejci injury is anything ‘serious’
Apr 3, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA; David Krejci (46) during the first period at Amalie Arena. (Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Bruce Cassidy’s plan to get a good look at a potential second-line combination with Brett Ritchie to the right of Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci went up in smoke on Monday night, as Krejci played just 1:55 before leaving with a lower-body injury.
But the fourth-year B’s coach, who is already doing his best to manage Patrice Bergeron (groin) in hopes that No. 37 is ready to go on Opening Night, does not believe that the team is facing anything major when it comes to Krejci’s status moving forward.
“I don’t think [it’s] serious,” Cassidy said after his team’s overtime victory over the Flyers. “[Krejci] took a hit early on, tried to keep playing. He just felt it was better to not push through. Wasn’t worth it.”
This appears to be where David Krejci got hurt pic.twitter.com/XdLX6e2AdC
— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) September 24, 2019
With Krejci out, Cassidy seemed to put his lines in a blender, as Sean Kuraly, Trent Frederic, and even Chris Wagner all got brief twirls between DeBrusk and Ritchie. While DeBrusk still got his time (and scored the game-winning goal in overtime), Krejci’s departure really robbed the Bruins of their first in-game look at a potential Krejci-Ritchie combination, as the puck never seemed to find Ritchie without No. 46 on the ice, according to Cassidy.
If Krejci is out for any extended stretch, the Bruins will promote Charlie Coyle to their second line, while the vacated third-line center job will become a battle between Kuraly, Frederic, Jack Studnicka, and Par Lindholm. The Bruins also have more than a handful of players with center experience — David Backes and Wagner are a couple healthy names — but the Bruins have been pretty upfront with their decision for those players to remain on the wing whenever possible.
Cassidy added that the team will likely have more info on Krejci’s injury tomorrow.
Krejci is coming off a 73-point 2018-19 season, which matched a career-high mark previously set in 2008-09.
