Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle hoping to mesh
Jim Montgomery’s forward lines this season have been an awful lot like the old adage about New England weather: If you don’t like them, just wait a minute, they’ll change.
So just how long he sticks with the new union of Brad Marchand and center Charlie Coyle with Jake Debrusk on the right wing remains to be been. It will most likely depend on how the other lines — especially the new top of line of Morgan Geekie between Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak — perform.
But the Bruins’ coach sounded upbeat and intrigued about what the line can do for the team after the B’s 4-1 win in Buffalo. He felt the Coyle unit was the team’s best line in the game,
“It really gives me a shutdown line,” said Montgomery earlier in the week.
If the new line can get Marchand’s game to where it’s been in the past, it would be a huge boost to the B’s. He’s still been producing. He’s second on the team in scoring with 1317-30 in 33 games, but at times it’s felt like he’s gotten most of those points on sheer will. The fit on a line with Zacha, as a left-shot centerman, and Pastrnak was a decidedly mixed bag. Going into Saturday’s game against the Devils, he was a minus-2. OK, plus-minus is flawed stat. Fine. But when you’re talking about a player who is plus-288 in his career, and the only time he finished a season in the red was in his brief 20game call-up in 2009-10, it’s notable.
Not only does Montgomery see the new line as a shutdown unit, he thinks there’s a glimmer of more offense there.
“I think they’re getting more odd-man rushes, they’re getting more accustomed to the spots they find each other on the ice and who likes to hold on to pucks where,” said Montgomery. “I think Charlie’s done a really good job of becoming a shooter first and getting inside the dots. Both his goals (in Buffalo), look where he is. How often was he there last year… He’s getting into scoring areas and that’s why he’s scoring more this year.”
It stood to reason that Marchand would have some growing pains in the postpatrice Bergeron era. The right-shot Bergeron was his centerman from the halfway point of the 201011 season until the former captain retired last summer. Playing with a rightshot in Coyle should present a comfort level.
“It’s what he knows, right? I think it’s a huge comfort level,” said Montgomery. “And right centers tend to pass it to the left wing more and left centers tend to pass it to the right wing more.”
Marchand, who has played off and on with Coyle earlier in the season, feels things are clicking better now.
“I think it’s much better now than where it was at the beginning of the year. I think we have a better understanding of how to play with each other more, which we knew would be the case,” said Marchand. “Any time you switch lines up, there’s always… a feelout period. I think we’ve found chemistry with guys in the past and we were used to that. But I think we’re feeling much more confident with one another and it’s showing.”
Coyle feels their ceiling together is higher than what it is now.
“I think there’s definitely some more getting used to in working together,” said Coyle. “But it’s a good thing to have, a good sign that we can keep improving and get to know each other on the ice better and playing together. His tendencies, what he does, what I usually do. And just talking more has helped us, too. But it’s something we continue to work at and get better and be whatever the game calls for, whatever Monty wants us to be that night, we can play that as best we can.” …
Loose pucks
Georgii Merkulov was set to make his NHL debut on Saturday centering Trent Frederic and Danton Heinen, but Montgomery didn’t rule out playing on the wing at some point.
“He’s doing well down in Providence as a center, he’s doing well at both ends of the ice. We’re going to put him in position to have success, as a center first. And then if we need to adjust, then we’ll adjust, but it’s not going to adjust in the first couple of games,” said Montgomery.
If Merkulov can stick, it will create a decision when Matt Poitras returns from the World Junior Championships. Perhaps Merkulov could move to the wing, or maybe it’s Poitras who moves, said Montgomery.
“For offensive players, it’s a lot easier to play wing and have more energy to go offensively (on wing) than it is to play center,” said Montgomery. …
As we near the halfway point of the season, Marchand was asked about what it’s been like in his first season as captain.
“At times, you overthink it a little bit. I definitely felt a lot of pressure early on,” said Marchand. “There were a lot of changes happening. At the start of the year, just the amount of guys that were coming in, the turnover, the guys that left and the importance they played within our group, I definitely felt a lot of pressure from the start. But I feel a lot more comfortable now. Not just me but I think the whole group does. We’re settling in. We talk a lot and I think we’re all getting more comfortable in our roles and understanding what that is.”
Marchand said that he and Montgomery had a conversation about getting into it with the refs.
“It kind of hit me,” said Marchand. “One, there’s a different level that you need to be in control and there’s more details that you need to have a much higher accountability level within your own game, just the details and the perception of your play, instead maybe cheating for offense, it’s the overall details. You look at Bergy and (Zdeno Chara), they were so good at their details, every single day, on the ice, off the ice, in gym. You have to be aware of that every single day because guys are watching you and what you do. I definitely have to pay much more attention to that than I’ve had to in the past because I’ve had Bergy and Z to rely on.” …
Matt Grzelcyk, who missed the previous three games with an upper body injury, returned to the lineup. Defenseman Ian Mitchell, meanwhile, cleared waivers.