The centerpiece of any trade to improve the club in the eyes or armchair general managers around New England, the B's will begin a short life without the services of top-line center
David Krejci tonight as they head to the MTS Centre for a Tuesday night battle with the Winnipeg Jets.
Giving an already shorthanded B's team another obstacle on a road trip that began with a hard fought 2-1 loss in Pittsburgh, there
is some comfort in the Krejci injury.
Appearing to dodge any serious damage to his knee after it was absolutely slammed with a
Johnny Boychuk slapshot on Sunday, the loss of a center that's tallied 24 points in 27 games this year goes beyond its effect on linemates
Milan Lucic and
Nathan Horton. Despite what people have convinced themselves of, Krejci is the pivotal straw that turns the offensive drink of the Black-and-Gold.
While the attacking-zone contributions of
Patrice Bergeron have been on the rise since
Brad Marchand and
Tyler Seguin joined his line last year, the recent tibia injury to
Chris Kelly has forced Bergeron to be more of the shutdown center he's been known as, and put the pressure on the Krejci line to produce.
Krejci line? Try the
Ryan Spooner line.
Called up yesterday to fill the void the Krejci injury created down the middle, it appears that the B's won't shelter the 21-year-old rookie as the team preps for a showdown with the Jets tonight. Centering the team's first line during the Bruins' morning skate today, it looks like it's all systems go for the second rounder from 2010.Tallying 12 goals and 45 points in 50 games for the Providence Bruins this year, there's no doubt that the 5-foot-10 center has the skills to succeed at this level, but it's always been about
Claude Julien's willingness to give him the opportunity (see: ice-time) to do such.
Of course, there's nothing that says that Spooner wouldn't be switched down to the third line in favor of winger-to-center
Rich Peverley a period into tonight's game, a move that'd bump Spooner down with the likes of
Jordan Caron and
Jay Pandolfo, but the fact that we're actually going to see Spooner get the chance to log top-six ice-time at some point tonight is more than exciting, no?
When it comes down to it, there's no better time for Spooner to get a chance, and this simply may be a necessity for the center-depleted B's; You're not breaking the Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin line up, and you don't want to put Peverley with Lucic and Horton right away, 'cause that'd simply leave you with a 4b-esque third line.
Oh, and you've 16 of your last 20 meetings against Atlanta/Winnipeg, a run that could extend to 17 in 21 if
Tuukka Rask (anticipated) gets the nod.
Despite a 'meh' 16-of-18 showing against Pittsburgh on Sunday, the 26-year-old Rask has simply dominated the Jets' franchise in his career, with seven wins and a .925 save-percentage in 10 career matchups.
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