David Krejci wants to return from his knee injury sooner than expected.
“I know they said 4-6 weeks but I’m going to treat my knee every day and do everything I can to be back as fast as I can,” the Bruins’ veteran center said today.
And in the meantime?
“I believe in this group -- whoever’s playing.”
Speaking of which, rookie Ryan Spooner took Krejci’s spot between Milan Lucic and David Pastrnak for Sunday’s game in Chicago, a much-needed 6-2 victory for the Bruins. The 23-year-old finished with an assist and four shots in 15:53 of ice time.
Krejci’s absence, however long it may be, represents a huge opportunity (another one) for Spooner, the 45th overall pick in the 2010 draft who so far has failed to prove he belongs in the NHL on a full-time basis.
“I was pretty down on myself for a bit,” Spooner said, per the Boston Globe. “I went home for the All-Star break and said to myself, ‘I have 30 games left here. I’m just going to go back there and play and try to have fun with it.’ That’s what I’ve tried to do. It’s been working.”
In addition to the loss of Krejci, the Bruins announced today that they’ll be without forward Gregory Campbell (upper body) for a week.
Boston hosts Vancouver tonight. Here’s what the lines are expected to look like:
Marchand-Bergeron-Smith
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 24, 2015
Pastrnak-Spooner-Lucic
Paille-Soderberg-Eriksson
Ferlin-Kelly-Caron
Related: Despite losing road trip, Chiarelli sees ‘promising signs’ from Bruins