Impact of creative Krejci no illusion

Man with moves in a great groove

David Krejci has found his groove. The Bruins' second-year center pinned up 3 more points yesterday, connecting for a goal and two assists in Boston's 5-1 shakedown of the Hurricanes, the clever pivot potting the day's first goal and helping his line (including Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder) finish with 7 points.

"Skill is not going to make you a successful player in this league," said the 22-year-old emerging star, a devotee of countrymen Jaromir Jagr and Milan Hejduk while growing up in the Czech Republic. "I believe I have some skills, yes, but I have to work hard, do all the little details."

The workbook of those little things, according to DK (fittingly, that sounds like "deke," if said quickly), includes such old reliables as sticking to the game plan, positioning, backchecking, forechecking, and perhaps the most telling, "being in the right spot at the right time."

Right now, that's where Krejci is separating himself from the humdrum rank-and-file of the Original 30. He is an opportunist, a sublime playmaker with a magician's sense of surprise, able to feed perfect blind passes, slow down plays to his liking, pull rabbits out of his helmet and a bouquet of artificial daisies from both gloves (beware the spray of water to your nose).

He is not the fastest skater. At 6 feet, 180 pounds, he is certainly not the biggest. He doesn't fly around the ice and dart in and out of tough spots, like, say, Saku Koivu, or come barreling out of the loge seats, Pavel Datsyuk-like. Much of the time, he is barely noticeable on the ice, but then in a flash opposing defenses watch blue sky give way to a raging, destructive tornado - Krejci right in the center of the storm. He is an ongoing, double-runnered whodunit.

The perfect case in point yesterday came with 16:05 gone in the second period, the score 4-0, the 'Canes already reduced to Causeway roadkill. Krejci had possession of the puck at goalie Michael Leighton's doorstep, but instead of shooting, he dished a devilish, twisting backhand feed toward the left post. Defenseman Anton Babchuk could barely wave a stick to stop it. Ryder only had to provide a thank-you tap in for his 17th goal of the season.

"Everything he does is about selling the move," said Mike O'Connell, who was the general manager when the Bruins made Krejci the 63d pick overall in the 2004 draft. O'Connell, now Los Angeles's director of pro development, was a press box visitor watching from the ninth floor. "His upper body, his eyes, all of that looks like he is going one way with the puck, then he goes the other way. He really reminds me of Adam Oates in that way. I'm thrilled for him - he's turning into an incredible player."

Krejci's afternoon was his sixth this season with 3 points. Marc Savard had only three games last season in which he picked up 3 points or more. At this rate, Krejci could equal the 12 such games that Savard posted in 2006-07.

"It's great, watching what he's doing," noted Savard. "He kind of reminds me of the way Robert Lang played when he came into the league. Krejci skates better, but a lot of it is the same - fluid, smooth, shifty."

Bruins coach Claude Julien has worked with some elite forwards, including Savard the last season and a half. He had Koivu and Alexei Kovalev in Montreal, as well as Patrik Elias in New Jersey. He doesn't like to compare players, but he knows that Krejci's skill level and production are moving him toward an elite class of NHL stock.

"Obviously," mused Julien, "this is a guy - only in his second year in the league, and third year pro - who is showing all the attributes of a great player. And if he does it year after year, he'll be recognized [around the league].

"This is a breakthrough year for him, but really it started last year when [Savard] was injured. He really took charge."

Boston goalie Tim Thomas, who improved to 17-4-3, works with some of the game's best centermen directly on his doorstep. Who are the guys with Krejci's game?

"You know, I can't think of a person he reminds me of," said Thomas. "But I know it's incredible to watch."

Wheeler and Ryder have grown accustomed to their center's uncustomary moves. If he has the puck, they expect to get it. If they get it to him, they expect to get it back. Obstacles? What do you mean, obstacles?

Ryder didn't know he would get that pass to tap in at the left post, but he was expecting it.

"I just didn't know if he would get it to me," said the right winger. "Kind of a tough play to make, you know?"

"When it's on his stick, and you're open, you'd better be ready for it," added Wheeler. "He just always knows where you are, and he's always going to make a great pass."

Krejci has found his groove, and each game, seemingly each shift, it is separating him from the ordinary.