Claude Julien: I don't trust my youth

For The Record-For a team built around its youth, I don't think Julien feels the youth on the Bruins has earned his trust. He was quoted after the game as follows:

"[Wheeler]wasn't very good for us tonight," said Julien. "I didn't think Krejci was very good for us either compared to what we're used to seeing. They're no different than anyone else. I've always said that you earn your ice time. I didn't feel those guys were good enough to have the ice time they normally have."

I understand that they did not have their best game, but I feel like he's being harsh on David Krejci. Blake Wheeler deserves the blame that was put on him because he spent four minutes in the box. Unfortunately for Krejci, he was put under a microscope in a game in which he was playing without one of his wingers and instead with someone who he probably never played with in Shawn Thornton. Furthermore, his other linemate was consistently in the penalty box. 

That's not to make an excuse to justify Krejci's supposed poor performance, but given those circumstances, I do think he had a decent game. Right now, one could make the argument that Krejci is the best center on the team, and playing second fiddle to Marc Savard isn't too shabby as well. To limit him to 12:41 of playing time and having all three of the other centers logging more time just doesn't make sense. 

Honestly, I think Claude's biggest problem at this moment is that he doesn't trust the youth. It's unfortunate for him that he has several young players who play a significant role on the team, but I think when push comes to shove, the ones he trusts are his veterans. Why do you think since Bergeron came back, Krejci's minutes have fluctuated?

WAS:  DK-20:40 PB-17:38

NJD: DK-17:42 PB 16:31

NYR: DK-15:06 PB-15:19

MTL: DK-17:09 PB-19:06

PHI: DK-15:26 PB-16:21

OTW: DK-20:19 PB-19:41

PHI: DK-12:41 PB-21:37

The problem is that Krejci is judged more based on the performance of his linemates. Unfortunately, recently Blake Wheeler has struggled with committing penalties. This has brought down Krejci's time on the ice as a result. I don't think Krejci's ice time should be effected by his line's play, but rather by his own play.

David Krejci has become one of those players that can be useful in all assets of the game. He's improved dramatically defensively and his ability to see and provide the passes necessary to set up his teammates for goals. IF HIS LINE ISN'T PLAYING WELL, SHUFFLE THEM UP AND PUT HIM WITH PLAYERS WHO ARE PLAYING WELL. 

The bottomline is you play your best players. This afternoon, Claude Julien did not play David Krejci as much he should have and that in itself probably was one of the deciding factors in the game today.