Whenever a player returns from injury, fans, media and observers alike expect that there will be a period of time in order to get back into a rhythm. That was certainly the case for David Krejci as he was activated off IR and inserted into the lineup on Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

In his first game back after missing the last 10 due to an upper body injury, Krejci was a minus-one, fired one shot and was 7-for-17 from the faceoff dot in 18:44 of ice time. With the team down 3-2 and looking for the equalizer in the final minute of regulation, Krejci stood at the point along with Torey Krug instead of forechecking in the corners and in front of the net.

Though the numbers and performance wasn’t the best for Krejci, the main focus was on the Bruins not finding a rhythm. From Claude Julien’s in-game line changes that included switching David Pastrnak with Matt Beleskey on Krejci’s line, to puck mismanagement and defensive breakdowns, the Black and Gold had a tough time finding a rhythm as the Canucks snapped their three-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory at TD Garden.

“It was kind of a frustrating game,” said Krejci about his first game back. “It’s frustrating to lose like that, especially when you come back and the guys are rolling [over the last three games] and you just want to jump on the train and keep it going. Kind of sad to come back [like that], but, you know, it is what it is.”

As frustrating as the loss was, the Bruins had chances after coming back twice to tie the game thanks to goals from Jimmy Hayes (his 11th at 19:08 of the second) and Brad Marchand (at 4:15 of the third tying Patrice Bergeron for the team lead in goals with 18).

But from Alex Burrows, to Daniel Sedin and Sven Baertschi, the Canucks took advantage of the Bruins’ turnovers. On the other end, the Bruins just didn’t have enough firepower on this night settling for one and done’s on Jacob Markstrom, who made 28 saves in the victory.

“Mistakes happen out there and no one is perfect,” Krejci noted. “I thought we could’ve managed the puck a little better and I also thought that we could’ve gotten at least a point. But, like I said, a frustrating loss.”

What did Julien think of Krejci’s return?

“He’s worked hard. Just because we’ve only seen him for, whatever, three or four days with the rest of the team, he was skating hard and he’s worked hard throughout his injury there to keep himself in good shape,” said the longest-tenured coach in the NHL today. “He didn’t look like he was tired tonight and having him where we had him there at the end on the blue line is certainly not as taxing as it is up front, having to forecheck and battle.”

In a season where the Bruins have had their share of ups and downs, a returning and healthy Krejci is only a good thing. It may take him a little while, but at the same time, the Bruins are a much better team with him than they are without him. On this night, they just couldn’t get a rhythm going.