It’s hard to believe the Boston Bruins have kept adding points at their current rate without David Pastrnak — but they have.
The Bruins currently are on a 15-game point streak, going 11-0-4 in that stretch, and with the recent additions of a few key players, Boston looks primed for a deep playoff run.
Although he didn’t make the blockbuster deal some hoped for at the NHL trade deadline, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made a couple of smaller moves for Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson. Thus far, both have paid off for Boston, contributing to what already was a cohesive group.
Coyle, in particular, is going to have to play well for Boston down the stretch and revive his skill set if the Bruins want to go as far as they seem capable of going, says ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.
Here’s what Kaplan wrote Thursday in ESPN.com’s most recent NHL power rankings, which identified one player from each team who’s under the most pressure for the rest of the season:
Local boy Charlie Coyle gets a chance to revive his career after stalling in Minnesota. There’s decent pressure on the forward considering Boston gave up on a promising young talent (Ryan Donato) to get him.
Although Coyle has not recorded a point yet with Boston, he has made the third line look far better and has had plenty of offensive chances. If the Bruins face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, Coyle is going to need to step up his point production.
It looked like Coyle would potentially get some reps on David Krejci’s right wing, but with the addition of Johansson, it seems as though he’ll be sticking to the third-line center role alongside David Backes and Joakim Nordstrom.
