The last time David Krejci and David Pastrnak really played together on a line for a prolonged stretch of games was way back in 2015-16, when Pastrnak was 19 years old and not yet the star he would become.
Jim Montgomery's plan is to keep Krejci and Pastrnak together for at least the foreseeable future, and possibly all season. If Wednesday night's season-opening 5-2 win over the Capitals was any indication, it's going to be a lot of fun to watch.
The longtime friends dominated in Washington, with Pastrnak recording a goal and three assists and Krejci notching a goal and two assists. They created several other chances that could have pushed those point totals even higher.
They started off doing their damage on the power play, with the two combining to set up a Patrice Bergeron rebound goal that opened the scoring. Then they did plenty of damage at 5-on-5 as well. They nearly combined to make it 2-0 on a pretty play where Pastrnak made a behind-the-back pass to Krejci, who then dragged the puck through his legs before trying to center a pass to Pavel Zacha, their left wing on this all-Czech line.
Then Pastrnak did make it 2-0 on a great individual effort as he shielded off a defender and scored on a spin-o-rama shot from the slot. Krejci picked up an assist on that as well. Early in the second, Pastrnak set up Taylor Hall to make it 3-0.
Both the Bruins and the Czech line hit some adversity for the remainder of the second period. They were on the ice for both goals against as the Capitals cut the lead to 3-2. On the first, Krejci had the puck bounce over his stick at the offensive blue line following a Mike Reilly turnover, leading to an odd-man rush the other way. On the second, Pastrnak fired right into a defender, leading to another odd-man rush.
So, this wasn't a perfect game for Krejci and Pastrnak by any means. But critically, they bounced back from that rough stretch and finished the game as strong as they started it.
They nearly sealed the win on a beautiful rush chance that saw Krejci go behind-the-back to Pastrnak, who then fed the puck back to Krejci for a shot that just missed the net. A few minutes later, they did add the insurance marker.
Krejci started the breakout with a calm pass behind his own net, then got the puck back in transition and sprung Pastrnak on a breakaway. Pastrnak couldn't beat Darcy Kuemper on the first try, but Krejci was right there to follow up and bury the rebound.
"Obviously it's great we got a win, and as a line we chipped in, but at the same time, second period wasn't the strongest for our line," Krejci said. "But we talked about it and we came out strong in the third. You're gonna make mistakes. This is a good league. You make a mistake and you're gonna pay for it, and we did that in the second.
"But I feel like in this league, it's always about a response. Us as a line and us as a team, we did that really well in the third period and finished the game against a really good team."
This wasn't just productive offensive hockey. It was pretty hockey, featuring the kind of creativity that gets you to repeatedly sit up in your seat. It was fun to watch, and Krejci and Pastrnak are clearly having fun playing it.
You could tell all preseason how much the two of them were enjoying practicing together, and how much they were looking forward to playing real games together. Ask one a question about the other and you'd get a smile before the question was finished.
Krejci and Pastrnak wanted to play together more in the past, but Bruce Cassidy was always hesitant to move Pastrnak away from Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and understandably so. That line was arguably the best in hockey for about a five-year stretch.
In some ways, they needed each other this time around, though. After suffering unimaginable personal tragedy last offseason, Pastrnak said it took playing for Czechia in the World Championship in May for him to find joy in playing hockey again. It's not a coincidence that he was playing on a line with Krejci when he found that joy.
Krejci, meanwhile, has said that same tournament was the proof he needed to know that he could still play at an NHL level. Getting to play with Pastrnak even more had to have been an appetizing prospect after that little taste in May.
Krejci and Pastrnak obviously aren't going to put up multi-point games every night. And yes, there's some stuff to clean up. But it's hard not to feel like they could have something special brewing this season. Krejci isn't even fully back up to speed yet.
"It's great. Obviously it's gonna be different for him. Maybe he doesn't admit it, but it's obviously different coming from big ice to small," Pastrnak said of Krejci returning to the NHL after a year in Europe. "I think he's only gonna get better, and he already looked pretty good out there to me."
Pastrnak is in a contract year, and is in a better spot both physically and mentally than he's been in years. Krejci's playmaking could help him challenge his career-high 48 goals from 2019-20. Krejci, meanwhile, has always produced when he's had talented wingers, and usually even when he hasn't. This version of Pastrnak will be the most talented wing he's ever had. If Taylor Hall eventually ends up on their left, as was originally planned, the line will be even more dangerous.
They'll have to be at least until Brad Marchand returns. If Jake DeBrusk misses any time with the upper-body injury he suffered in the second period Wednesday, the Bruins will have to rely on Krejci and Pastrnak to lead the offense in the early going even more.
Wednesday night was only one game, but it was one game that offered an exciting glimpse into just how fun this Krejci-Pastrnak combination can be.
