Boston: Following the Boston Bruins’ 3-0 shutout victory on Monday afternoon, the most of the conversation focused on Jeremy Swayman’s outstanding performance in goal during his sixth consecutive game in the net.
It was understandable in light of the circumstances and the 31 saves he made at TD Garden against the New Jersey Devils, but it also worked perfectly for Charlie Coyle, who is quietly having the best season of his NHL career. The Weymouth native finished with the game-winning goal in the midday victory at a pivotal point in the game that broke things open for the Black and Gold.
The Devils’ goaltender Nico Daws put on a masterful display to keep the Bruins scoreless in the first period. The Bruins may have also been frustrated by the fact that a James van Riemsdyk goal was disregarded after New Jersey successfully contested that David Pastrnak was offside on the zone entry.
Rather, Coyle scored a goal just 30 seconds into the second period with a brilliant short side backhander after Brad Marchand perfectly centered it to him while he was still in motion.
To be honest, all you do is try to quickly put it on the net with your backhand. The goalies find those difficult to read, according to Coyle. It’s hard to even aim at them. Simply toss it, and maybe it will make it to the net’s back.
But Coyle’s season-high fifteenth point did not signal the end of it; he did more than “just throw” the backhander.
In addition, he played a solid two-way game for 18:53 at the center position, putting up five shots on goal, seven shots total, one takeaway, and an incredible 26 faceoff wins with Boston. Coyle was the player on the draw when Boston needed a faceoff victory. Patrice Bergeron had been playing a similar role for the past few years, essentially playing the same kind of job as Coyle, who was forming a line between Brad Marchand and Pastrnak in a new Perfection Line.
When Jim Montgomery first started Charlie Coyle with Marchand and Pastrnak in Arizona last week, he stated, “I felt ‘Pasta’ was on, felt Marchand was on, and I wanted the most reliable center to be playing with them, and that’s Charlie Coyle.”
Because he wasn’t offensively influential enough in previous years, many people thought that Coyle could ever be a top-6 center. However, the 31-year-old is achieving this while elevating his game as a whole.
Don’t ask Coyle if he believes this is his best NHL season, though.
The two-way center doesn’t care how well or poorly things are going for him; instead, he just wants to play the game the correct way, support his team in every circumstance, and quietly put together consistently strong games.
“All I’m trying to do is act the part. Sincerely, I don’t care how many goals I score,” stated Coyle, who set career highs with the Minnesota Wild in 2015–17 with 21 goals and 56 points in two seasons. Do I wish to make more of an effort? Yes, without a doubt. But I want to play that way and play it well. Really, that’s all I’m attempting to do. I’m not concerned with points or anything like that.
But there’s no denying that this is his breakthrough year.
With 15 goals and 32 points, he is third on the Bruins and has developed into a vital scoring cog behind Pastrnak and Marchand, who are both headed for career highs of 27 goals and 61 points. Those are the exact same kind of numbers that Bergeron had been producing over the last four seasons while playing a center for all circumstances exactly as Coyle does for Boston these days.
In addition to Boston’s top two players, how significant of a contribution is Coyle to the offense?
The Bruins’ offensive lull in mid-December, during which they dropped five of six games, coincided with Coyle’s run of six straight games without a point.
After the Christmas break, the Bruins and Coyle emerged victorious from their slump when the center scored two goals against the Buffalo Sabres. Since then, neither the club nor the individual have let up.
Therefore, for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs, Coyle and the Bruins must hope he can avoid any more of those offensive blackouts.
“I don’t know,” admitted Coyle, when asked if he’s experiencing his best NHL season. “I’m not even considering whether or not I’m doing at my best. We are only halfway through the season. This first half is meaningless if I go and crap the bed in the second half, right?
“I just want to keep improving, playing the right way, learning from my mistakes, and continuing to develop and contribute to the game of hockey.” I want to be a guy who steps up when needed, contributes, and makes a difference while acting appropriately in every circumstance. I want to continue doing that for the team.
Here’s a wager that Coyle will be able to cap off this season strongly because it appears and feels like he’s playing his best hockey with the Boston Bruins at a time when the team needed a replacement player after David Krejci and Bergeron retired. This season, Coyle has come through for a Bruins club that desperately needed it, and on Monday afternoon, he did it once more in a matinee victory over the Devils, putting on another Bergeron-like display.