Bruins’ Team Success Exceeds Personal Accolades For Charlie Coyle

Even though the Bruins have won their first two games, head coach Jim Montgomery has deemed the team offensively challenged early in Boston’s centennial season.

The way he hopes to spark more five-on-five scoring is to shake up the lines heading into a four-game road trip beginning Thursday night in San Jose.

The biggest move was swapping rookie Matthew Poitras for veteran center Charlie Coyle in the team’s top-six forward unit.

Poitras will center the second line with Brad Marchand and Morgan Geekie flanked on his wings while Coyle moves to a familiar spot in the lineup centering the third line. Coyle will be reunited with last year’s linemate Trent Frederic and newcomer James van Riemsdyk.

“We’re three big guys who can play with the puck down there and hang on to it,” Coyle told The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa after practice at Sharks Ice in San Jose on Wednesday. “Be around the net front. We can all do that a little more. But it’s not like we all have to have our places, right? We’re all comfortable anywhere.”

While some may consider the move to be a demotion for the 31-year-old Weymouth, Mass. native, Montgomery feels Coyle will do anything to help the team succeed and the player himself echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“It’s a team. It doesn’t matter if you’re slated on the first two lines. It’s how many minutes you’re playing. We all want to play more minutes, right?” Coyle said. “… You just want to play the best you can with whoever you’re playing with, play more minutes and be the best you can. …I just want to play well wherever I am and whoever I’m playing with. And play more minutes.”

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Coyle and Frederic built chemistry last year with the latter recording career highs in goals (17), assists (14) and points (31). Adding van Riemsdyk to the duo will give them an opportunity to protect the puck and get into the dirty areas.

“We all have our individual strengths. JVR’s in front. I’m in the corner, using my body and shielding the puck. Freddy’s opening up as that high three or coming in soft spots for shots,” Coyle explained. “Something like that. We’re all capable of doing that. It doesn’t matter where we are in the zone. We should be able to create some offense no matter what.”

Coyle added: “It just comes down to that I want to play more hockey and be the best I can. If I’m earning more minutes, then I must be playing well. I want to keep doing that. I never look at things like, ‘Oh, I’m not here. I should be here.’ If you want to be a certain place, then earn it.”