A first-year pro, a wispy youngster with a bad wing, a journeyman, and a first-round washout - hardly the stuff of an NHL roster the subsequent season.
But the Bruins, who kick off the postseason tonight against the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens, would probably have missed the playoffs had it not been for their late-season kick, which was delivered by their up-the-middle strength from a most unlikely foursome.
"We've had to compensate with that," coach Claude Julien said of his center-ice patches following the injuries to Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard. "But having said that, we got ourselves into the playoffs because, partly, they did a great job. They stepped it up, and you almost have to take the same approach going into the playoffs. It doesn't matter who you have. You've still got to perform."
The center takes the faceoff. While the wings can stop and start, the center is in constant motion in all three zones. He stays high in the defensive zone, remaining in the middle of the ice, on watch for dangerous plays. In the offensive zone, the plays usually flow through the center, who can distribute or attack with the puck.
"The biggest thing is to be at the middle," Nokelainen said. "Claude is telling me and the other centers to let them come to us. We just have to cover the middle. That's basically our home where we have to go every time. You can sort things out from there. Usually if you're in the middle, you're fine. It doesn't matter if your guy is outside. That's a pretty safe place to sort things out."
Bergeron, oozing with hockey sense, was a prodigy before his injury. Savard has had nine NHL seasons to learn these elements. But Bergeron has been unavailable for more than five months with a Grade 3 concussion, while Savard missed seven critical games because of a broken bone in his back, leaving the Bruins shorthanded at a vital position.
The primary candidate to step up, especially when Savard went down, was Krejci, Boston's second-round pick in the 2004 draft.
