The present-day Bruins will never be confused with the Big and Bad vintage of the 1970s, or even that of the 2011 Stanley Cup team. As with most teams in today’s NHL, skill is the most prevalent and/or desired trait.
But even in today’s game, size still matters. And in the Bruins’ 2-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, the Bruins may have hit upon something that could help them flex their muscles a little more than they’ve been able to this year.
With Brad Marchand still in a league-dictated timeout and a blowout loss to Carolina on Thursday, Coach Bruce Cassidy tinkered with his lines and came up with a heavy unit of Charlie Coyle centering Trent Frederic and Craig Smith.
The results were eye-opening. The group started the game with a tone-setting shift, generating what turned out to be the winning goal from Frederic, 11 shots on net, and six hits.
Coyle, in particular, responded well to having bigger wings on both sides of him, pumping five shots on net and having a much stronger shift-in, shift-out presence.
Coyle has succeeded with other types of wingers in the past. His line with Danton Heinen and Marcus Johansson was instrumental in the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup final in 2019. But Coyle’s union with Frederic and Smith seemed to bring the best out of him just when it was needed.
“I think sometimes he’ll take more responsibility to shoot the puck and attack the net, it seems like depending on who he’s playing with. We always encourage him ‘Never mind who’s on your right or left, just play that game and pull them along and they’ll get there,’ ” said Cassidy. “That’s what I see at times. He defers. That’s his personality a little bit. I don’t think anybody was happy with the way we played on Thursday so he took it upon himself to be more of a leader in that department with (Patrice Bergeron out). Hopefully he continues to be consistent in that attack mode. You’re not going to score every night, but if you’re attacking, good things happen.”
The perfect, lasting fit had not yet presented itself for Coyle this year. He started the season with Taylor Hall, but that did not click and was a casualty of the Jan. 1 line shakeup that jump-started the season. While he’s had his dips, his production overall has been close to what one would expect/hope from him. He stands at 10 goals and 11 assists in 46 games.
He’d had a few good games with Jake DeBrusk and Oskar Steen, but as the rookie Steen hit a rookie wall and was sent back to Providence, Coyle’s effectiveness was on the wane. Before Saturday’s game, he had one assist in five games and just six shots in those five games.
His linemates served as a good pick-me-up for Coyle.
“At the beginning of the year last year we played together a little bit – me, Smitty and Freddy. It seemed like we clicked right away. We just kind of jelled. I was pretty excited to see them on my wings and test it out,” said Coyle. “You get one on the first shift, you feel pretty good. That’s a good way to start. It’s just all the little things we did leading up to that. And it was the same thing, we just kind of clicked right away. We had a number of chances and we should have buried a bunch. But it’s good to get an opportunity with those guys. We’re just looking to build on that. We could be a very good line, a big line, guys who can protect the puck, holding it down there and be responsible and contribute, too.”
Having a strong, heavy line can have a ripple effect for the rest of the team.
“It’s all about speed these days, but you need guys who can skate decent and win battles down low and hang on to the puck, put it on their d-men and play down there,” said Coyle. “That’s huge. It helps the other lines, too. When they come out, they may get tired defenders. You just wear guys down that way and it helps as the game goes on. That’s what we need to bring and that was a good start for us.”
How this shakes out when the team is at full strength remains to be seen. The three players must continue to click to stay together when Bergeron and Marchand eventually get back in the lineup.
But Cassidy liked what he saw from the line, both in actuality and as a concept.
“To me, that’s a really nice-looking third line,” said Cassidy. “Guys can score, work, contribute on special teams and probably be a good matchup line.”
JEREMY SWAYMAN’S 30-save shutout in Ottawa was good enough to get him a second straight start at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
“I’m not surprised he bounced back,” said Cassidy, referring to his rough start last Tuesday against Pittsburgh. “He’s done that pretty well here, getting ready for the next challenge. I think that’s part of his mental makeup that we’ve talked about for two years, so I think he’ a little ahead of the curve for most goalies his age.”
BERGERON PRACTICED with the team in a non-contact jersey, but will not play against the Rangers on Tuesday. Cassidy hoped he’d meet the team on their three-game trip if he continues to progress well from his head injury.
Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) practiced and is “probable” for the Rangers, according Cassidy.
Urho Vaakanainen practiced on Monday and is “back in the mix,” said Cassidy, but won’t play on Tuesday. He hasn’t played since suffering a head injury on a hit from Seattle’s Yanni Gourde on Feb. 1.
Marchand, who will serve the third of his six-game suspension on Tuesday, will have his hearing heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman on Wednesday.
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