Bruins’ Charlie Coyle Ends Career Night With Teammate’s Assist

BOSTON — Charlie Coyle has been an impact player for the Bruins throughout his tenure in Boston. On Thursday night, the Weymouth, Mass. native put together a career performance in a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders.

In the team’s best offensive performance of the season, the Boston center led the way. On two separate occasions, Coyle found space in the New York offense on perfectly-timed touch passes from Pavel Zacha and James van Riemsdyk to tally two goals.

In his efforts on Thursday night, Coyle’s head coach knows that his offensive skills continue to improve and earned the chance to shine in the victory.

“You see it in flashes,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the win. “This was the most complete game. When Charlie is skating like he was tonight, Early in the first, he skated around a puck at the offensive blue line. He skated wide and took it deep. That’s when I know he has that extra gear. I’ve talked to him about it. I thought he was playing slower than he did last year. He plays a lot of hard defensive minutes for us on the penalty kill. He’s just a team-first guy. When he has that jump that he had tonight, he becomes a dynamic offensive player.”

Coyle knows that his abilities as a scorer are a developmental part of his game and his impact on the Bruins. Even in a notable performance against New York, the veteran center looks to continue his evolution as a well-rounded player.

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“I can always be better,” Coyle told reporters after his performance. “You push to be better. Sometimes, you’re doing the right things and you get rewarded. Sometimes, it’s the other way around. I’m always pushing to get better. I’m always harping on myself to shoot the puck more and get in those scoring areas. That’s a work in progress, too. I want to keep adding to my offensive game but make sure I bring my defensive game.”

The Islanders pulled goalie Ilya Sorokin late in the third period for an extra attacker. Boston won a puck battle with key plays from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Coyle cut to the net and got a final pass from Pastrnak and tapped the puck into the goal to close out his first career hat-trick in the NHL.

“It feels good,” Coyle shared. “I was just on the end result of a lot of good plays and passes. Sometimes, it just goes that way. In a sense, it’s like getting your first goal out of the way. Those are the kind of milestones you think about. You never really focus on that stuff. Sometimes, it just pans out like that.”

The two Bruins communicated in real-time who would finish the empty netter after each scoring previously in the game. Ultimately, Pastrnak made the ultimate decision as a teammate to give Coyle a chance to make history and record what he shared was his first hat-trick since his youth days in Weymouth.

“He was screaming to shoot it,” Coyle said. “I’m glad it worked out.”

“We can stick with that,” Pastrnak told reporters. “He’s a big part of our team. He’s been used for every single situation. Glad for him and happy that he got a hat trick.”

The finishing touch on an impressive Boston win spoke volumes to the Bruins’ culture.

“I love being part of Bruins culture,” Montgomery shared. “To see (Pastrnak) waving at him to go to the net, … they’re incredibly unselfish and thoughtful people. It shows in the way they love playing for each other.”

Coyle and the Bruins look to win three straight when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.