Charlie Coyle’s Message To Rookie John Beecher Following Bruins Overtime Loss

The Boston Bruins lost the lead late in the third period and then dropped the 5-4 decision in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Monday night.

At 7:47 of the third period, Bruins rookie John Beecher became the shortlived hero of the game when he scored the go-ahead goal for Boston less than 95 seconds after David Pastrnak had knotted the game at two.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, Austin Watson would light the lamp for the first time as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning less than a minute later to tie the game at three.

The Bruins would take the lead again when Charlie Coyle potted his sixth goal of the season with 3:51 left to play. The Bruins appeared to gain momentum following the goal, but it came to a screeching halt when Beecher was called for high-sticking against Darren Raddysh with 2:20 left to play.

As one of the leaders in the Bruins locker room, Coyle remembers what it’s like to ride the highs and lows within a tight, hard-fought game like that. Even though the penalty did not directly affect the outcome of the game, Coyle expressed his support for Beecher.

“You always think back to when you were younger and the feeling you have and maybe not the most confident at times,” Coyle said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We’re a pretty tight group in here and guys are pretty good about making everyone feel comfortable with it.”

Coyle added: “We all make mistakes out there. I’m not saying he did or not, but I’m just saying we’re always there for each other no matter what. … Beech is a great player. A big goal for us tonight. He’s huge for us and he’s gonna get better and build confidence as we all do. It’s only gonna come with more games under his belt.”

Beecher finished the game with a goal, a blocked shot and three hits over 12:14 minutes of ice time including 1:50 on the penalty kill.