Is one game of preseason action going to be enough for Charlie Coyle to shake off the rust as Boston’s new second-line center?
“It’s gonna have to be,” the pivot declared on Tuesday.
It’s far from an ideal situation for the 29-year-old forward in terms of getting back up to speed and taking the reins of such an impactful spot in Boston’s lineup, but such is the hand dealt to both Coyle and the Bruins — the byproduct of an extended recovery timeline due to offseason knee surgery.
Of course, a lack of preseason reps might mean very little down the road if Coyle — who underwent procedures this summer to correct an avulsion fracture in his left kneecap and a tear in his patellar tendon — can return to form with a clean bill of health and resemble the puck-possession monster that Boston saw from 2019-20 when it felt comfortable handing him a six-year, $31.5 million contract.
But the first step for Coyle in Wednesday’s preseason finale — besides simply getting re-acclimated to game action — will be to spark some chemistry with a pretty impressive arsenal of weapons in Taylor Hall and Craig Smith.
While the production generated when both Coyle and Smith logged reps on a underwhelming third line last season leave a bit to be desired (Boston only outscored opponents, 7-6, during their 223:39 of 5v5 ice time in 2021), adding an offensive conduit like Hall to the mix could make a world of a difference in terms of maximizing that second line’s production.
"It's kind of been a short sample size with my situation and not being out there every day with those same guys,” Coyle said of his preseason and building chemistry with his new linemates. "But you make the best of what's in front of you, what you have and make the most of it.
“I've played with Smitty for a little bit last year. We had some good things going on, I thought. Taylor, maybe just a shift here and there, maybe. But watching him a lot, kind of knowing how they play and their tendencies —it does help to be out there getting the reps with them."
Even with a delayed start to preseason action, Coyle’s appointment to the 2C spot always seemed to be part of Bruce Cassidy’s plan — at least to open the 2021-22 season. But that doesn’t mean that a few other candidates didn't do what they could to make Coyle look over his shoulder — namely Jack Studnicka.
Even though Studnicka may not have lit up the stat sheet during his reps with Hall/Smith during preseason action, the 22-year-old still earned plenty of positive reviews from Cassidy for his effort and 200-foot-game.
But with Boston apparently focused on keeping Studnicka at center — and the current logjam in place with Coyle returning and both Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek impressing during their preseason reps — it sure seems as though Studnicka is the odd man out at this point.
Still, Coyle focused on the positives that come with Studnicka making a concerted push for that 2C gig over the last few weeks.
“That's what you need,” Coyle said. “I think that's what good teams have — every day I think you should feel a little pressure, whether it's younger guys or older guys who are trying to make a push. That's what makes us guys ahead play better. If you don't, they're coming up. That's the mindset you have to have, is you got to bring it every day or someone else is going to take your spot.
"But to have that within our team and there's extra guys who can easily come in and play — that's only going to make everyone better, make our team better. So you love to see it. Love to see a guy like that plays well and pushes us, pushes me. Hope I push him and that's what makes a good team."
B's announce another round of cuts
With preseason action wrapping up tonight, the B's announced another hefty round of cuts – sending plenty of players hovering around the roster bubble down to Providence.
The full list of players that will report to Providence's training camp is:
Jack Ahcan, Samuel Asselin, Matt Filipe, Jesper Froden, Curtis Hall, Cam Hughes, Kyle Keyser, Joona Koppanen, Jakub Lauko, Tyler Lewington, Brady Lyle, Zach Senyshyn, Oskar Steen and Nick Wolff.
Boston still likely has another smaller round of cuts on the docket in order to get down to the main NHL roster — with players like Studnicka, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Anton Blidh and Karson Kuhlman up with the main group. At this point, given the lineup that Boston is rolling with on Wednesday — and Studnicka's waiver exemption — my guess is that he opens the year down in Providence.