Time is running out for Charlie Coyle and Boston's 3rd line to get rolling

What do we know about this Bruins team with just nine games left on the regular-season docket?

Even with David Pastrnak sputtering a bit when it comes to cashing in on one-time scoring bids he's buried for years, Boston is set to roll out a revitalized and effective top-six unit come the postseason — with the addition of Taylor Hall giving Boston arguably its most complete and lethal pair of forward trios since 2014.

Despite dealing with a slew of injuries, Boston's structured zone defense makes it hard on opponents, with the B's still sixth in the NHL in goals against per game (2.47) and second in penalty-kill success rate (85.9).

With Tuukka Rask in net and the continued ascension of Jeremy Swayman, Boston has can and should remain in most games with such a goaltending corps in place.

Those all seem like the hallmarks of a club that can make some noise come the postseason, no doubt.

But there's still plenty we don't know about the 2021 Bruins with only so much runway left before the calendar flips to May.

There are some question marks that should short themselves out in due time, with more practices on the docket for this week giving Bruce Cassidy and his staff ample time to correct a power play that's mired in a 3-for-31 slump over the past 11 games.

But as for finding a solution to Boston's rudderless third line? Well, finding that solution seems a bit murkier for Cassidy and Co. — and that's far from good news for Boston.

As late as Thursday night, it seemed as Cassidy's patience with a hodgepodge trio of Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk and Nick Ritchie appeared to pay off after all three got on the scoresheet against the Sabres. Well, at least it did for a night.

But after falling to the Sabres again on Friday and with Boston's offense laboring once more on Sunday against the Penguins, Cassidy's hand was forced. On an afternoon in which Pittsburgh held a 30-13 edge in scoring chances, Cassidy looked for any semblance of a spark by shuffling up his bottom-six unit. None would come in what was ultimately a 1-0 loss at PPG Paints Arena. But beyond the frustration of Boston's offense drying up in a true test against another East Division foe lies the real fear that Boston is running out of time — and options — when it comes to getting that third line rolling.



"Probably lack of production from a number of guys down there for extended periods of time now that you expect more from," Cassidy said when asked what prompted him to mix up his bottom six on Sunday. "Quite frankly, I think they're all capable of giving a little bit more offensively. Some of their roles are not necessarily that but certainly create a little more. So we moved some pieces around and if you're not going to score, then you got to keep the puck out of your net. ... We just have guys that are not producing down there.

"So move them around, see if you can spark them another way. So that was the reasoning, but I still think it falls on a lot of those players to work a lot harder to attack the net, a little more will to get inside, to do what it takes to score in this league. So we'll address that tomorrow, and keep preaching those points and hopefully we get the desired result."

We won't continue to harp on what we've stressed time and time again this season — in which Boston's true ceiling come the postseason might depend on if 2019 Charlie Coyle can make a return and both drive that third line and capitalize on lesser matchups.

So far, there haven't been a lot of signs that said turnaround is in the cards. Despite gaining a secondary assist on Ritchie's tally Thursday, Coyle has been limited to just seven total points over his last 26 games — with his last goal coming all the way back on Feb. 28. That's not going to cut it for a third-line pivot who has made a knack for driving play, extending O-zone shifts and putting other bottom-six lines on the ropes through his first two seasons in a Bruins' sweater — and especially not for a player in year one of a six-year, $31.5 million contract.

Whether it be failing to respond following Cassidy's shuffling on Sunday (Pittsburgh held a 6-1 edge in scoring chances when Coyle and DeBrusk were out on the ice together) or not running with the opportunity to drive Boston's top line Friday with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak (Buffalo scored two goals against that top line with Coyle in the middle), Boston needs much, much more from Coyle down the stretch here.

"Well, Charlie hasn't scored in a long time," Cassidy said. "So I'm sure it's affecting him. He's not a guy that's a Pasta or Marsh-type scorer, but he's scored in this league. So I got to believe it affects anyone. I think he's done some good things, getting to the net, being a net presence on certain days, but obviously he's going to need to drive that line if it's going to have success.  ...The message to him is just attack more. He had an opportunity the other day, we trapped some guys, we threw it to the front of the net and he kicked it up top when I think he could have went to the net and attacked himself. So those are some things he has to do a little bit more of. We've been asking Charlie for that for years and just a little more of an attack mentality. So again, we'll remind him of that."

Of course, if Cassidy wants to send a message, he could opt for players like Coyle and DeBrusk to spend a game or two watching from the press level. But doing such a move could just be cutting your nose off to spite your face if you're the Bruins. Even with his struggles, Coyle will be penciled in at 3C in Boston's lineup come the postseason and — barring a miraculous return from Ondrej Kase — DeBrusk should also have a secured spot on the wing.

While Boston could try to find some energy by turning to its taxi squad — it seems unlikely that players like Karson Kuhlman, Zach Senyshyn or Jack Studnicka are going to be the answers here, not during this postseason push at least.

"I don't know that we have a bunch of guys that have scored at this level on the taxi squad," Cassidy said. " I mean, there's been certainly some guys a little bit here and there. We're hoping they'll be able to do it. But that's kind of the ask and the responsibility falls on them a little bit, the guys that have scored in this league, to start finding ways here. I mean, we have kind of settled on our top six here. And we may move a piece around here or there, but I think for most nights — especially lately, they've done a pretty good job creating offense.

"But you need that secondary stuff. We've gotten a little bit more out of our D lately as well. But some of those bottom-six guys have got to at least have games where they're close. Tonight, I didn't think that was the case with them. ...  Yes, we can move a guy in and out to get them motivated, this and that. But we know at the end of the day – the guys that have been here just to look within themselves to see how they can help us create a little more there."

No, if Boston is going to revive its third line this year, it's going to fall on the underperforming players stuck on said line to drag themselves out of it. And time is running out.