BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Avalanche 0 - Coyle line dominates against banged-up Avs

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-0 win over the Avalanche, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Not much has changed in the last week-plus for both the Bruins and Avalanche.

An already shorthanded Colorado roster found itself in an even more precarious position — having lost star pivot Nathan MacKinnon for at least a month due to an upper-body injury.

And the Bruins were, once again, paced offensively by a third line that continues to defy expectations.  

In what has become a recurring trend this season, opponents have had no answer further down on the depth chart when it comes to negating the trio of Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic — with the three skaters combining for three goals and seven total points in what was a 4-0 road victory on Wednesday night.

With the win, the Bruins improve to 21-3-1 on the season and 2-0 against the Avalanche — who were without the likes of MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Valeri Nichushkin, Josh Manson, Bowen Byram and other lineup regulars in the contest.

Still, even without a majority of their star players available, Colorado did manage to keep Boston at bay in the first period — with the B’s unable to break through due to an aggressive Avs forecheck and a propensity to take low-danger shots against Alexandar Georgiev.  

“One thing in this league, you understand injuries are part of it. I don't think anyone takes a team lightly when they're injured," Nick Foligno said pregame. "Sometimes they're like a wounded animal, they're a little more dangerous because you don't know what to expect. I don't think we're a team that ever takes any team lightly. We always want to play to our strengths and our abilities.

"But we're anticipating a hard game. And like anything, when you're going through it, no team feels mercy on you. We've got to make sure we have that mindset as well and making sure that we're starting this road trip off right against a really good team and knowing we have to be at our best to win."

Of course, while Colorado does deserve some stick taps for slowing the B’s down in the first 20 minutes, the floodgates eventually opened for the visitors as time ticked off – with the Coyle line routinely dominating their minutes thanks to some draining shifts in the offensive zone.

In the grand scheme of things, it is a shame that these two meetings between arguably the two most talented teams in the league were marred by Colorado’s current affliction with the injury bug.

But after a hard-fought shootout loss to Vegas on Monday, it was encouraging to see Boston right the ship in a hurry and beat down a lesser opponent on the road just two days later. 

THREE UP

Coyle Line: I think it might be time to just throw Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall’s previous track record as ill-fitting linemates out of the window. Because whether it be just another year of experience or Trent Frederic making strides in his own game, this new third line has been dominating its matchups for weeks now. Both Hall and Frederic were the ones who lit the lamp on Wednesday night, but it was Coyle who orchestrated both scoring sequences with some strong defensive play and impressive puck-protection skills. 

David Pastrnak: After getting rocked by Dryden Hunt early in the second period, Pastrnak had the last laugh — scoring his 18th goal of the season a little over two minutes later. And even though Pastrnak isn’t exactly known as a bruiser, he did throw his weight around a good deal during board battles as the game progressed. Might want to pay this guy.

Linus Ullmark: Yes, the Avalanche were missing an absurd amount of their starters in this one, but a shutout is still a shutout. Ullmark stopped all 23 shots that came his way, including four high-danger scoring chances.

TWO DOWN

First 20 minutes: The Bruins eventually took care of business in this one against a diminished roster, but Boston didn’t exactly tilt the ice in its favor out of the gate, with Colorado landing 11 shots on goal against Ullmark in that opening period and the B’s failing to put a dent in Georgiev. 

Power play: This game could have been even more lopsided had Boston’s man advantage managed to do some damage against a Colorado PK unit ranked near the bottom of the league. Boston finished the evening 0-for-3 on the power play. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Nice finish by Hall here for his second goal of the night — and a sweet heads-up feed from Jake DeBrusk down the other end of the ice.

LOOSE PUCKS

*Actually, it’s 5-1, now.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their three-game road trip out west on Friday when they battle the Arizona Coyotes at the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena in Tempe. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.