As Bruins try to solve the puzzle at right wing, Karson Kuhlman makes a compelling case on the Coyle line

Just one glance at the box score from Tuesday night should have many Bruins fans feeling as though all is right with the world. 

After two games in which a stagnant B’s offense only lit the lamp three times, Boston’s high-powered scoring machine finally revved up — exploding for four unanswered goals in what was a 4-3 road victory over the Golden Knights. 

Boston’s tried-and-true weapons did most of the heavy lifting, once again. A top-line trio of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak once again tilted the ice in their favor — tallying three goals against Marc-André Fleury while racking up seven total points in the scoring barrage. 

On the power play, Boston cashed in on one of its three chances on the man advantage, compiling 12 shot attempts and five total shots on goal in 5:20 of 5v4 ice time, including one snipe from Marchand at 18:58 in the first stanza.

It was an encouraging result from the now 3-0-0 Bruins, but one that, all things considered, should be expected from one of the top forward lines in the league and a power-play unit that operated at a 32.4% clip during the 2019 playoffs. 

What wasn’t expected, however, were the results generated further down the lineup on Tuesday night, especially at the club’s well-established Achilles' heel — at right wing.



Chalk it up perhaps to a lingering lower-body injury that David Krejci is still dealing with, but Boston’s second line has failed to establish much of anything in the offensive zone this season. 

So far, during the 28:48 of 5v5 TOI in which Krejci has skated this season, Boston has only been able to generate one high-danger scoring chance, while the opposition has totaled six down the other end of the ice. Even a spark plug like Karson Kuhlman — who helped generate an absurd 7.00 goals for per 60 minute rate last season when slotted in with Krejci and Jake DeBrusk — hasn't been able to get that line rolling, even with his ability to make something out of nothing in a hurry with a couple of strong strides. 

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Looking to find some semblance of a jolt for Lines 2-4, Bruce Cassidy eventually relented on Tuesday, opting to slot down Kuhlman to Boston's third line — anchored by Charlie Coyle at the pivot and with Danton Heinen at left wing.

The revamped forward combination might not have scored in the victory, but they did their damnedest during the minutes handed to them. With Kuhlman's speed and two-way play complimenting an already puck-possession dominant line, Coyle and Co. routinely hemmed the Golden Knights in their own zone — with Boston holding an 8-1 edge in shots on goal during the line's 6:24 of 5v5 ice time.

(For comparison, the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line generated seven 5v5 shots for and four against during their 10:40 of TOI.)

Now, it's easy for Kuhlman to be tabbed as a great fit on a line like this, especially when his center is pulling off things as seen below in the O-zone.

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But when comparing a line of Heinen-Coyle-Kuhlman to the contest's original combination of Heinen-Coyle-Brett Ritchie, the results were night and day — as Boston was outshot, 5-2, and surrendered a high-danger scoring chance during the 2:51 of ice time that Coyle and Ritchie skated together before Cassidy pulled the plug.

With Anders Bjork still getting some seasoning down in Providence, Kuhlman should stand as the logical next man up to slot in on Coyle's line. While a heavy skater like David Backes or Chris Wagner could add some thump on the forecheck when situated next to Coyle, Kuhlman's ability to battle down low and use his speed to aid in puck recovery should allow that line to orchestrate some suffocating shifts in the O-zone.



(Just a dominant sequence from the Heinen-Coyle-Kuhlman line — with Kuhlman using his speed to beat  Jonathan Marchessault to a puck along the boards and extend Boston's zone time).

It remains to be seen if Cassidy would opt to start this trio for an entire game going forward, especially against a club that can trade chances with the best of 'em in the Avalanche on Thursday. But even if Kuhlman might stand as the solution as to who slots in on the Coyle line, the right-wing conundrum is far from resolved, especially when it comes to correcting the current woes of Krejci's group.

Slotting down Kuhlman might have benefited Coyle and Heinen, no doubt. But the same can't be said of Ritchie's promotion into the top-six unit — as the DeBrusk-Krejci-Ritchie line failed to land a single shot on goal in 5:25 of 5v5 TOI.

Down the other end of the ice, Vegas landed seven shots on goal against Tuukka Rask while generating three high-danger scoring chances. Boston can't afford to have a top-six group knocked on the ropes like that, but who is the next best option, especially if Kuhlman carves out a nice role on the third line?

Pastrnak would be Krejci's preferred pick, no doubt — with the pair even managing to log 1:55 of ice time together on Tuesday. (Boston outshot Vegas, 2-0, during that stretch).

But then the domino effect of breaking up that vaunted top line would be set in motion, leaving Cassidy with a scarce number of reliable options when it comes to plugging in potential top-six solutions — especially if Boston doesn't want to break up a Heinen-Coyle-Kuhlman line.

Until a potential impact winger like Bjork earns another shot up with the big club, the Bruins might have to be content with treading water when it comes to the RW spot for the time being — with Boston shuffling through wingers ad nauseam in order to find a spark night in and night out for both Krejci and Coyle.

It's far from the ideal scenario, especially in terms of maximizing the value of a line like Coyle's, but given Boston's weakness on the wing, it might just be the hand that the B's are dealt for the time being.