This reads as... I know more about hockey than you, therefore I am right on this subject.
Also I would disagree on how well he does the little things. Bergeron and krejci are not even close when it comes to this. His role on the 1st line is to drive the offense and put up points/goals whether you think its sexy or not
That was not my intent. It's just a different way of looking at the game and how I interpret the Bruins philosophy in terms of team building.
Yes, Krejci is not in the same category as Bergeron defensively. Few players are. But when he is not contributing offensively, Krejci still does his job and fits the team's system. The primary responsibility of all 12 forwards is defense first, then build the offense from there. Chris Kelly said it today as reported on Twitter "we are a defense first team. Focus on that and offense will come. Keep doing the little things and that will lead to offensive chances."
And this is what Krejci has done as a Bruin, and where they've ranked in terms of overall offense.
07-08. 56gp = 27 points. Bruins goals scored: 206 for 24th in league
08-09 82gp = 73 points (2nd behind Savard). Bruins goals scored: 270 for 2nd in league
09-10 79gp = 52 points (Tied first with #37). Bruins goals scored: 196 for 30th in league
10-11 75gp = 62 points (Tied first #17). Bruins goals scored: 244 for 5th in league
11-12 79gp = 62 points (3rd behind 19 and 37). Bruins goals scored: 260 (tied for 2nd)
Since 07-08 the Bruins have been the 8th best scoring team in the league, at 2.87gpg/1176 total. The 9th best team is Buffalo, with one fewer goal than the Bruins. (Data is from NHL.com) The teams ahead of them: Detroit (3.07/1260), Washington (3.06/1256), Philadelphia (3.06/1253) Chicago (3.05/1249) Pittsburgh (3.04/1248) Vancouver (2.97/1217) and San Jose (2.89/1186). The lowest team is Minnesota at 2.48(1017) goals per game. The average for the league is 2.75 per game with 1126 goals scored.
Taking a look at the number of time the top 9 have had at least a 30 goal scorer and/or 70 point scorer I get these results. Washington (9/10), Philly (11/8), San Jose (9/9), Vancouver (6/11) Detroit (6/9) Pittsburgh (7/7), Chicago (6/8) Boston(2/3) and then Buffalo. (7/5) The first number # of 30 goal scorers, the second number is minimum 70 points seasons. So in the last 5 seasons, Washington has had 9 players score 30 goals, and 10 players finish with 70 points or more. Boston has two 30 goal seasons (Lucic and Kessel) and three 70 point seasons (Savard twice, and Krejci).
What the numbers show me is that despite the lack of a bona fide 30 goal or 70 point guy, the Bruins have been better than 21 other teams in the league (by a significant margin) in terms of goal scoring over the past 5 seasons. And in each of those seasons, save the first, Krejci was at or near the top of the Bruins scoring list. He is a vital piece to the Bruins philosophy of having a balanced attack that relies on three above average lines to get goals from, rather than one really really great line and two average to below average ones.
The team's overall success in that period is a balance between defense and offense, and balance within the forward lines. It's also the easiest model to sustain because the lower point totals keep cap hits reasonable, meaning you can keep the core around longer.
At the end of the day, the only thing I find sexy is winning, and under Claude with Krejci on the team, the Bruins have done a lot of that the past five years. I'm not saying he is the only reason, but he has been a vital part of the team's success.
