Until the NHL roster freeze ends on Dec. 28, no moves can be made and players can’t be called up. For now, Boston Bruins head coach Joe Sacco has managed to shuffle his lines, and one line has started to click, and it has created a ripple effect down the lineup.
Bruins’ New-Look Second Line
It is all about fine-tuning and finding the right spark. Right now, that spark is the second line of Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand, and Elias Lindholm, the perfect blend of defense that can translate to offense. They were a large part of the Bruins’ victory over the Washington Capitals on Monday, and Marchand touched on his line’s performance:
“I love our effort. You gotta give a lot of credit to [Coyle] on both of those goals… our defensive game really translates to offense.”
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Coyle playing on the wing has been a huge boost that gives the line two true centers, but he also excels on the wing. He is responsible defensively, a great puck protector, phenomenal down below the goal line, and can produce.Together, the line has produced – Lindholm has five points in his last five games, including three goals. Marchand is on a ten-game point streak, and Coyle has three points in the last two games. This is a perfect trio to help take pressure off the top line.
They’ve only played 33:42 together, but they have made their mark. They are controlling possession and the pace of the game. Suppressing the opposition has been their strong suit, surrendering just 0.71 expected goals against. Their execution has been their biggest strength.
Each goal scored against the Capitals was a seamless transition from good defense to good offense. The Bruins cleared the zone, and Marchand found Lindholm to score the game-winner. Their second goal was off Coyle executing a breakout and getting behind the defense. For the second odd-man rush in a row, they connected. This line does the little things right. However, it has affected the third line, which begs the question, who should be the third line center?
Solving the Bruins’ Third-Line Center Role
The easy answer is Matthew Poitras, who is with the Providence Bruins where he has been over a point-per-game player, showing no signs of slowing down offensively. Given the Bruins’ offense, the team could use him and they wouldn’t have to give away assets to add him to the roster. If that doesn’t happen, the third-line center should be Mark Kastelic.
Trent Frederic anchoring a line with Justin Brazeau and Oliver Wahlström has not been pretty. They are a big-bodied trio that can wear down opponents when they get into the offensive zone, but they are getting caved in. They are chasing the game, getting out-attempted 22-8 and outshot 5-1. To make matters worse, the expected goals share is 0.93-0.03 for the opposition. They have very little impact, and the center position does not suit Frederic as well as playing on the wing. His faceoff win percentage sits at 45.13, and he is better suited as a line driver from the wing position. Who should they swap him for? Kastelic.
Kastelic is the perfect Bruin. He skates fast, forechecks hard, plays physical and is not afraid to drop the gloves. He is also a tremendous center and can play the position well. His faceoff win percentage is the best among all Bruins centers (54.98), and that’s while playing fourth-line minutes most of the time. He has been unafraid to jump into the mix and create offense, so pairing him with Frederic could improve things.
The fourth line is perfectly fine at center, as John Beecher is very capable of handling that workload. Putting Frederic in a place to succeed will have a better outcome than putting him at center. Getting him going is key.
Finding the Right Bruins Line Combinations
Finding the right combination will go a long way, especially after Bruins star winger David Pastrnak left the game against the Capitals and his status is uncertain. The second line has now cemented itself as a legitimate threat, but finding someone to fill in for Pastrnak will be crucial. Swapping Kastelic for Frederic makes the most sense and could bring life to the third line. Until the Bruins make the right decision to bring Poitras back up to the big club, this seems like the most logical approach.
