David Krejci dishes out three assists in his 1,000th game with Bruins
BOSTON -- Monday afternoon was a milestone game for Bruins forward David Krejci. The forward took the ice for his 1,000th regular season game in a Bruins sweater, and had a true Krejci game in Boston's 6-0 victory over the Flyers at TD Garden.
Krejci led his Bruins teammates onto the ice for Monday's pre-game skate and received a loud ovation from the Boston crowd after his first shift. He didn't take long to get onto the stat sheet, credited with a secondary assist on Boston's first goal, which was scored by David Pastrnak 4:38 into the game to put the Bruins on top 1-0.
Krejci logged another assist later in the period, feeding Pavel Zacha for a deep one-timer with 4:55 left in the frame to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. He's now up to 22 helpers on the season.
Krejci had yet another helper on Zacha's second goal of the game, which gave Boston a 4-0 lead in the second period. He's now up to 23 assists on the season.
The "Czechmates" line of Zacha, Krejci, and Pastrnak combined for four goals and nine total points in Monday's victory.
Monday afternoon gave Bruins fans another opportunity to appreciate Krejci, who has spent all 15 of his NHL seasons in Boston. Reaching 1,000 games with the team was a milestone we weren't sure that he would hit after Krejci left the NHL to play last season in the Czech Republic. But in returning to the Bruins this year, he is further cementing himself in the team's history.
Krejci is just the seventh player to play in 1,000 games for the Bruins. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was the last Bruins player to hit the milestone, doing so during the 2020 season, while Patrice Bergeron is also part of the illustrious group at 1,258 games (and counting) with the Bruins.
Ray Bourque (1,518 games), Johnny Bucyk (1,436), Don Sweeney (1,052), and Wayne Cashman (1,027) round out the 1,000-game group for the Bruins. Krejci is just the 75th player in NHL history to play 1,000 games one team.
Krejci has been a steady and consistent force for the Bruins since the team drafted him in the second round in 2004. He amassed 761 points over his 999 regular season contests heading into Monday's game, scoring 226 goals and dishing out 535 assists. He's also been stellar in the playoffs with 124 points (42 goals and 82 assists) over 156 postseason games, making him the third-leading playoff scorer in Bruins history behind Bourque (161 points) and Bergeron (127 points).
Krejci led all postseason scorers with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in the 2011 postseason when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. He led all scorers again in 2013 when he racked up 26 postseason points (nine goals and a playoff-high 17 assists) in Boston's run to the Cup Final.
The Bruins will honor Krejci for reaching 1,000 games with the team with a pre-game ceremony on Monday, February 20, ahead of the team's game against the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden.
