BRUINS;Demotion doesn't sit well with Krejci

WILMINGTON - David Krejci means no offense to Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron. Both are first-round draft choices (Pouliot in 2005; Caron in '09) with good size and skills. Still, Krejci seemed pretty clearly offended after practice Tuesday. Accustomed to skating on what's usually considered the Bruins' top offensive line, Boston's two-time scoring leader didn't quite succeed at hiding his disappointment over the fact that he didn't hold that distinction Sunday at Washington. A day after Saturday's ineffective performance between Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley in a 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh, coach Claude Julien replaced Krejci with Chris Kelly, leaving Krejci on what amounts to a third line between Pouliot and Caron in a 4-1 victory over the Capitals. "I got sent to another line, and that's the way it goes right now," said Krejci, who was scoreless at Washington and has just one assist in four games since the NHL All-Star break. "I can think about it whatever I want. It's wrong, or right, whatever. I'm on the line I'm on right now." Under perfect conditions, Krejci skates between Lucic (19 goals) and Nathan Horton (17), but the latter will miss his sixth consecutive game tonight at Buffalo because of a concussion, and only began working out again late last week. (Julien, somewhat irritated by constant questions about Horton's status, said Tuesday that, "When you see him on the ice with us, it's going to be a real good sign. So we'll leave it at that.") Krejci has only put up that single assist in Horton's absence, after scoring at least one point in 15 of his previous 16 games (6-15-21). Having rebounded from a poor start (3-5-8 over his first 16 games), Krejci seemed to feel Julien was quick with his hook. "We came back against Ottawa, and everything was fine," said Krejci, who was on the ice for two Boston goals and had one assist last Tuesday, when the Bruins returned from the break with a 4-3 victory over the Senators. "And then we lost the next couple games." Julien, who kept two forward lines intact Sunday, gave several reasons for changing the other two groups. The coach cited Washington's anticipated game plan as one reason he "kind of tweaked our lines a little bit," and said the changes were a way of "keeping everybody on their toes." Julien also brought up factors relating to effort, intensity and consistency. "I don't think there's necessarily any messages, more than we expect our players to come out and be the best they can every night," Julien said. "That's something I think they owe to the organization, especially based on their contracts. That's what we expect from them, no matter where they are." Speaking more specifically about Krejci, who earns $3.75 million this year but is set to become Boston's highest-paid forward ($5.25 million) when an extension kicks in next season, Julien said: "The message should be the same, whether he plays with . his normal players or other players." Krejci may not like the way the message has been delivered, but says he gets it. "I can think about the situation whatever I want," he said, "but I'm a professional, and I'm here to help the team win. The situation is where I am right now. . It's my job to go out there and prove people wrong."