Just how good can the ''Czech Trio'' be for the Boston Bruins?
The Boston Bruins received terrible news when they learned that forward Taylor Hall is officially considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury. For the team's preseason game on Wednesday, Montgomery dropped Pavel Zacha down to the second line with country-mates David Krejci and David Pastrnak.
Krejci has been a Bruin for a long time now, but he discussed how this would be a first for him:
''The communication obviously would be a little bit different, maybe not easier but different, just saying [anything] in one language If Pavel's gonna get a shot, then obviously we have to talk. But I like what I see. I know what kind of player he is; I played against him for many years.''
''Hopefully, the chemistry's gonna be there; that's all you can ask for.''
''Hopefully, the chemistry's gonna be there; that's all you can ask for.''
In their first game together, the trio combined for 3 goals and 5 assists in a 5-4 exhibition win over the New York Rangers, and the chemistry was evident.
The newest Bruin of the three, Zacha, spoke about his three-point night playing with the fellow Czechs:
''It's always fun to play with guys like [Krejci and Pastrnak]...the chemistry there was pretty good...we worked hard for every chance we got.''
The Czech trio's next goal really put their insane chemistry on full display, as all three made nice plays to make the goal happen:
In just 14:39 ice time at five-on-five together, Zacha Krejci Pastrnak out-chanced their opponents 16-5 (76.19% Corsi for the analytics fans), a 10-3 edge in shots and 4-0 in goals scored.
Head coach Jim Montgomery spoke about the newly formed line with the highest praise postgame, and for a good reason. As per Montgomery:
''It was pretty impressive; just the chemistry they seem to have right away is good. Whether it was breakouts finding the middle of the ice or it was the neutral zone. They made a lot of plays in all three zones that led to goals.''
Catch the bench boss' media coverage below:
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