After shuffling and searching, Bruins might have all ingredients in place for another potent 3rd line

Bruce Cassidy is well aware of just how crucial an effective third line can be, especially come the postseason.

For as much as Boston has leaned on its big guns like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak over the years, the 2019 Cup run was anchored by far more than just the usual suspects draped in black-and-gold sweaters.

Don Sweeney’s moves at the deadline that February brought aboard two solid NHLers in Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson — a pair of necessary transactions in order to shore up Boston’s middle-six corps. Coyle and Johansson did that and then some. 

While their own individual talents were easy to glean upon observing Coyle’s puck-possession habits and Johansson’s crisp passing, their chemistry together next to a solid, two-way winger in Danton Heinen went far beyond what Boston’s own expectations — giving the team an effective 200-foot line that could capitalize against matchups further down the lineup.

A lot has changed since 2019, to say the least. Coyle might remain entrenched as Boston’s third-line pivot, but the supporting cast around him is a bit different. And even though a shot-first winger in Craig Smith and a young bruiser in Trent Frederic might offer different skillsets than a Heinen/Johansson, the end result remains the same, in Cassidy’s eyes.

Much like how the Heinen-Coyle-Johansson trio was more of a sum-of-its-parts unit where everything just appeared to fall into place, this Frederic-Coyle-Smith grouping has all the tools in place to inflict similar damage out on the ice. 

“It takes me back to the playoffs — the Coyle and JoJo trade years ago where we had three lines going offensively and our fourth line was built to kill penalties and give us energy. We have that. And now, if that line could generate, we become dangerous like that offensively. I don't know if it's dangerous defensively would be a term, but I think we're always in games because we defend well. … That part of our game is in order, and the offensive part? Yeah, right now we are like that, with the lineup the way it is.”

It’s tough to argue with the results both forth by this new-look third line, especially in wake of Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Golden Knights. 

The early returns put forth by this 11-13-12 line — namely some extended O-zone possessions made possible by strong board work and Coyle playing “keep away” with the puck — was enough for Cassidy to keep this trio in place for an extended stretch, even keeping Smith off the top line even after Marchand returned to the lineup.

Still, Boston was eventually going to need Coyle and Co. to start getting those fruitful O-zone shifts to translate into goals on the board. 

Those efforts were finally realized in Vegas, with Smith snapping a 12-game goalless drought with his second career hat trick with Boston — while Frederic cashed in with a three-assist night.

For the Bruins, Thursday’s showing was the latest in a long line of breakthrough performances by some secondary cogs further down on Boston’s depth chart.

First, it was Jake DeBrusk’s recent scoring salvo. Then Nick Foligno started to gain some traction on Boston’s checking unit. Now, with both Smith and Frederic posting three-point nights, Cassidy and the Bruins should sleep soundly tonight with another segment of the lineup starting to cash in.  

For as much as Smith’s recent play offered some cause for concern, the Bruins weren’t necessarily sweating a veteran like Smith trudging through a cold spell, especially as a volume shooter than tends to be rather streaky.

But Frederic’s consistent and steady play since getting extended reps at 3LW has been a pleasant surprise for a Bruins club that has desperately tried to carve out a defined role for the amorphous forward. 

As much as Frederic ingratiated himself to Bruins fans by re-arranging Brandon Tanev’s face in his NHL debut, Boston needs him to be a whole lot more than just a scrapper if he wants steady reps in this lineup. 

Thursday was a shining example of what the Bruins believe Frederic can be at this level — an engaged, physical winger that is starting to be more confident with the puck and capable of making the opposition pay when afforded time and space. The Bruins aren’t expecting him to be the second coming of Tom Wilson out there, but Cassidy would be the first to tell you that Frederic is a whole lot more than just a heat-seeking missile of pain. 

 “Well, he's feeding off the other two,” Cassidy said of Frederic. And what he needs to figure out is how can he generate offense for himself. I think Charlie Coyle understands how he's going to generate offense. He's a puck-possession guy when he attacks. Craig Smith, you know he's a volume shooter. So Freddie has to figure out — and Freddy has a really good shot.

"I don't think people notice that — his release is excellent. So today, even though he got three assists, he shot off the rush a couple times, which was great. And he made a play to Smitty when they had a clean 3-on-2 for the first goal. So his decision-making tonight coming into the zone or once he had the puck on his stick in a dangerous situation was better.

“He'll bring the physicality, we know that. He's learning to possess pucks better too with that with group, so they're spending time in the o-zone. We had a good meeting this morning with them about they can start building a little more attack mentality. It happened to work tonight, and good for them.”

In total, the Frederic-Coyle-Smith line has now logged 105:03 of 5v5 ice time together this season, holding a 4-0 edge in goals scored over that stretch. Pretty impressive, considering just 40.9 percent of their faceoffs are set in the offensive zone. 

Roster construction can often be a frustrating exercise — where the best-laid plans made over hours of meetings and contract negotiations in the summer are undone when the actual players get out on the ice. 

Going into the 2021-22 campaign, few would have predicted that Foligno’s best spot on this Bruins team would likely be on the fourth line. Plenty believed that Smith’s time as a bottom-six regular were all but finished after the numbers he put forth with David Krejci last season.

But then again, few expected that the trio of Coyle, Heinen and Johansson (who was initially brought in to skate with Krejci, not Coyle) to suddenly find their spark on the ice and go on a ridiculous run.

Sometimes the pieces just happen to fall into place. And when such fortune falls in your lap, it’s best to run with it. 

Boston certainly learned that firsthand in 2019. And it sure seems like that luck might have found them again with this latest amalgamation of third-line talent. 

“Everyone's getting their minutes and I think everyone's bought in at this point," Smith said. "And especially throughout February — it was a big month for us, growth-wise, as a team and I thought we came out of that well. "