WASHINGTON – David Krejci was the Bruins’ most productive offensive player last postseason. Any chance he’ll show up during these playoffs?

After the Bruins failed to challenge Braden Holtby for the latest time this series and saw the Capitals tie the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at two games apiece, Krejci, who led the 2011 postseason with 12 goals and 23 points, was distraught. Like really, really distraught.

He sat at his stall in the tiny visitors’ dressing room at Verizon Center and spoke -- softly, as always -- as though he was a man who was out of answers. 

“I felt great before the game,” Krejci said without blinking. “I felt [like] finally it's going to, our line will be able to produce. It sucks, you know? It's disappointing. You get that many shots, that many chances and you come up short.”

The Bruins had a lot of shots on goal (45), but they didn’t have a lot of chances. Krejci contributed exactly zero of those shots on goal in what was the latest underwhelming performance from the man who last postseason outproduced the likes of Steven Stamkos and both the Sedin twins. 

Boston’s top two lines have yet to score a goal this series. You probably already know that, but really stop and think about it. The fact that they’re tied in the series speaks volumes for what depth they have, but it also tells a horrific tale of underachieving talent. 

Right at the top of the list this postseason is Krejci. He was one of the stars of last year’s Stanley Cup run, but through the first four games of this postseason has four shots on goal (the second-lowest total among Bruins forwards), zero goals and zero assists. 

On a night when the Bruins once again put together a box score that would deceivingly make Braden Holtby look like Patrick Roy, some of Krejci’s offensive shortcomings were painfully apparent. He failed to control three passes that were sent his way in front of the net, squandering what could have been some of the Bruins’ best opportunities of the night. 

“We could have had five goals, our line,” Krejci said, “but we didn't, so it is what it is.”

The first chance came early on, when the B’s were trailing 1-0 in the first period. Tyler Seguin entered the offensive zone with speed and skated down the right wing before dishing the puck to Krejci in front. Krejci didn’t have his stick on the ice, and the play fell apart. 

In the third period, Seguin was in the corner and sent a no-look pass behind his back to Krejci in front. Through Krejci’s legs it went. Later in the period, with the B’s desperately trying to come back from a 2-1 deficit, Andrew Ference tried to feed Krejci in front from the point. Again, no luck. 

All of the chances that could have been left the Bruins with their third game this series in which they managed only one goal against Holtby. Krejci saw some things that he liked, but at the end of the day, he and his linemates -- and Claude Julien switched them up -- didn’t find the back of the net.

“You know what? I felt great the whole game,” said Krejci, who only had an assist in the first round last year. “We were creating chances. We were putting pucks on net. We were doing good things, and then you come on the bench after the shift and you know you had a great chance but you didn't score. It sucks, you know? You try to stay positive but it's so hard, you know?”

Krejci began the night centering Brad Marchand and Seguin. In the third period, Julien flipped Marchand with Milan Lucic, so Krejci was skating with Lucic and Seguin. 

Make no mistake: Krejci hasn’t been the only Bruins forward to sleepwalk through this series. On the whole, Seguin has been bad. He was better on Thursday, and if Krejci caught either of the passes that Seguin sent to him in front of the net, perhaps Seguin would have had a multiple-point night. Seguin also battled more on Thursday after showing little willingness in the series’ first three games. 

In Game 4, Krejci was the weakest player on his line when it came to battling for pucks. No offense to Seguin, but that shouldn’t be the case for Krejci when he’s on a line with the 2010 second overall pick. 

Then there’s the power play. The B’s had just one man advantage on Thursday, which came in the third period on a Mike Knuble holding penalty. Boston failed to muster much on the man advantage and now is 0-for-12 this postseason. 

The Boston power play came late in a 2-1 game. The B’s had the chance to tie it, but a sloppy two minutes yielded nothing.

“We knew what we had to do and we didn't do it,” said Krejci, who plays on the team’s first power-play unit. “We had a set play and we didn't do it. When everybody's on the same page, somebody does something else.”

Krejci’s clearly frustrated. He’s frustrated with his line not producing, and he’s frustrated with guys on the man advantage straying from the plan -- he played with Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Rich Peverley and Zdeno Chara on the power play Thursday. Most of all, he’s frustrated with himself as he’s failed to match his level from the 2011 postseason. 

“Of course it is [personally frustrating],” he said. “It is really frustrating. It's disappointing as well, just trying to stay positive.”

Krejci will need to stay positive, and he’ll need to turn things around soon. As one of the most skilled players on the roster, he’s relied on to fuel the offense. So far, the soft-spoken Krejci has been far too quiet.