Charlie Coyle Had This Hilarious Take On Why He Took So Many Penalties

Charlie Coyle is usually a very disciplined player whenever he laces up the skates for game action.

The Weymouth, Mass. native is usually a key penalty killer for the Bruins, not one that causes Boston to be a man down. So when he uncharacteristically took four infractions for eight minutes in the Bruins’ preseason finale, he claimed he had a good reason.

“I think I might have had more than I had all last year,” Coyle said after the game, per team-provided video. “Thought we’d give our PK, (head coach Jim Montgomery) before the game wanted to work on (the penalty kill) a little more, so I figured I’d be the guy to take it.”

Coyle’s eight minutes weren’t close to the 30 he took in 82 games last season, but it was rather lopsided for one game.

Special teams always have been a part of the Bruins’ identity when it comes to gameplay, and during the six preseason games, Boston gave up four goals on 24 attempts to the opposition while going 4-for-20 on the man advantage.

“Our penalty kill is what needs probably more work, to be honest,” Montgomery said. “But we got five days of practice here coming up … we’re really gonna hone in on special teams and sharpening the details within our game.”

The Bruins impressed Montgomery overall in their 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

“That was the best team game we played,” Montgomery said. “You can see it in the first period that we were starting to play to our identity, what I believe is our identity. We’re playing faster. We’re possessing pucks. We weren’t spending too much time in our own end. A lot of individuals had their best game. … There’s a lot to like from this game.”

The Bruins open their regular season on Wednesday night when they host the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT. Boston returns to NESN for its following matchup against the Nashville Predators at 7 p.m. ET next Saturday.