Bruins’ David Krejci a late scratch for Game 3 due to upper-body injury
David Krejci took part in warmups ahead of Game 3, but was later ruled out due to injury.
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Bruins were already without Patrice Bergeron for a pivotal Game 3 down in Florida on Friday night.
Now, they’re going to have to beat the Panthers without both of their top-six centers.
Just ahead of puck drop on Friday night, the Bruins announced David Krejci as a late scratch due to an upper-body injury.
The 36-year-old pivot took part in warmups close to 30 minutes ahead of Game 3 and was a full participant during morning skate at FLA Live Arena.
With Krejci scratched, Nick Foligno will slot back into the lineup.
Krejci missed the final six games of the regular season due to a lower-body injury, with Jim Montgomery noting earlier this week that Boston’s second-line center was back up to speed ahead of the postseason.
“He’s skating better than he has in two months, in my opinion, in the last couple of days,” Montgomery said of Krejci on Monday. “So I’m glad that we took the precautionary measures we did with him because he looks — and you can tell. He has that twinkle in his eye, which is good.”
It’s unclear when Krejci suffered his current upper-body ailment. But the playmaking forward has struggled to find his game through his first two matchups against Florida in this first-round series.
In Krejci’s 28:40 of 5v5 ice time so far against Florida, the Panthers have outscored the Bruins, 2-0, and held a 24-9 edge in shots on goal.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com