"The last few times on the ice feels pretty good," Krejci said following practice. "That's a good sign…hopefully have another good [skate] tomorrow and go from there. I felt good today, hopefully tomorrow I can not wear a non-contact jersey and do some more battling.
"We'll see what happens for the next game [on Wednesday in Anaheim]. I can't really guarantee anything, but I'm planning to play at some point on this trip."
Prior to the injury - suffered against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 19 - Krejci had been off to a strong start. The pivot was averaging a point per game, with a goal and five assists over his first six contests of the season.
After a long and successful summer of training, the injury was a demoralizing blow.
"It's frustrating, especially early on in the season," said Krejci, who played all 82 games last season. "You have the whole summer, you work so hard and then you play only six games and you're pretty much back where you started. I'm feeling better now. I put all those negative thoughts behind me a long time ago."
Krejci's return will certainly help ease the burden placed on Boston's other centers, particularly Patrice Bergeron. With Krejci sidelined - as well as the absences of fellow centermen Ryan Spooner and David Backes - Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has had to rely even more heavily on Bergeron.
In 11 games this season, Bergeron has played north of 20 minutes in nine of them. It is a trend that Cassidy would like to temper quickly.
"We've got to be careful," said Cassidy. "That's the problem. You want to stay in the moment and you want to win games, but you want to make sure you're not overtaxing, so how do you juggle all that? That's the challenge that as a staff we have right now.
"Can you do that 82 times a year? I don't think so. "It's going to catch up to him."
Cassidy praised the play of Jordan Szwarz, Riley Nash, and Sean Kuraly, who have taken on more responsibility with the injuries up the middle.
"That's when it helps with a guy like Szwarz coming up and giving us some good, solid minutes," said Cassidy. "That's where Riley Nash has to step up on the penalty kill and shutdown situations. Sean Kuraly has done a pretty good job…we rely on those guys a little more than we normally would. That's the hand we've been dealt. You find different ways to win."
