David Krejci will miss his fourth straight game Monday night when the Bruins play the Blue Jackets in Columbus Blue Jackets, and it appears the back issue that's sidelined him is becoming a problem.
Krejci was among a number of Bruins players who never got on the ice Sunday morning for an optional practice, and it remains to be seen exactly when he’ll be able to return. He hasn’t played in 10 days, since suffering a cross-check to the back that caused him to spasm up in Boston’s Oct. 19 win over the Vancouver Canucks. He originally was listed as day-to-day, but coach Bruce Cassidy changed that to "week-to-week" when Krejci was unable to play after going through the beginnings of pregame warmups when the B's played Buffalo a week ago Saturday.
David Backes has subbed in at center between David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk with some pretty good results, but there’s no question the B's miss Krejci's playmaking abilities. They've scored only seven goals in three games without him, and are just 1-for-7 on the power play during that span.
The bigger issue, however, is the aging center duo of Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. Both are still very effective when healthy and have been warriors over the course of their respective careers in Boston, but they’re also both on the wrong side of 30 with a lot of hard miles logged on their bodies. The Bruins have had both Bergeron and Krejci healthy and in the lineup for exactly one game this season -- the win over the Canucks where Krejci first suffered the back injury -- and that’s likely happen more and more as age begins to chip away at their respective games.
