Coyle Breaks Through to Lift B's to Victory Over Buffalo

BOSTON - Charlie Coyle wasn't thinking about himself on Thursday night.
Yes, he entered the Bruins' tilt against the Buffalo Sabres in the midst of the longest goal drought of his nine-year career, but scoring was not at the top of his priority list. Helping the Black & Gold secure a victory was all that was on his mind.
"It's not about me and scoring goals. It's about the team winning," said Coyle. "Did I realize I haven't scored in a little bit? Yeah. But you've just got to make sure you play every game. I don't go into every game saying, 'I've gotta score, I've gotta score.' It's just about me bringing what I'm capable of bringing, what I need to for the team to play well.
"We need a lot more than scoring goals. Is scoring goals great? Yeah. I want to do more of it, but it's not something that's weighing on me. Because that's about me. And it's not just about me, it's about the team."

On this night, however, those two things went hand in hand.
Coyle finally broke through after 28 games without a goal as he buried the winner with a strong individual effort at 7:58 of the third period to help lift the Bruins to a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden.
"It was obviously the difference in the game," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of Coyle's marker, which snapped a 2-2 tie. "We gave up an early one in the third and we didn't get down on it…he gave us the boost back, obviously. His type of goal where he took it to the net. Something we've been encouraging him to do a lot more of late. Hopefully he builds off that.
"He's a big man. I think you'll see a lot more of those goals if he's willing to do that. Maybe this, like I said, will give him some confidence and he can get going from there."

Coyle started the play with some strong neutral zone pressure, forcing Sam Reinhart to clank a pass attempt off of Coyle's stick at the red line. The Weymouth native picked up the loose puck and surged into the Buffalo end, holding off Reinhart with his right arm. He eventually gained a step on Reinhart and a backchecking Rasmus Ristolainen and finished with a beautiful wrister over the glove of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukonen.
"Sometimes when you're not scoring, you've got to bulldoze your way to the net," said Coyle, who hadn't found the back of the net since a two-goal outing on Feb. 28 in Boston's 4-1 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. "That was kind of mindset on that. Got a lucky stick and luckily it went in. We'll take it and move on."
Coyle was, for the third straight game, playing right wing - as opposed to his natural center position - on the B's third line alongside Trent Frederic and Sean Kuraly.
"It's tough to say," Coyle said when asked if the switch has helped to free him up offensively. "It's been a couple games now. Sometimes, you move to wing and you play more straight line. I'm playing with a guy in Sean Kuraly who's really responsible defensively. I can trust him and be able to get in on the forecheck and know that he's back there. Or vice versa and he trusts me.
"That's the beauty of playing with another centerman, who's got a defensive mentality. That makes it a little easier. I get in there and do my thing, forecheck, win battles, and that's when I get to my game and play well, and the line plays well, and we get chances from that."

Krejci Keeps Trucking

David Krejci is surging. The veteran pivot has been immense since the trade deadline, collecting 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 10 games, and that stellar play continued against the Sabres, as he notched a goal and an assist for the second straight contest.
"He's reenergized in terms of attacking," Cassidy said of what he's seen out of Krejci with Taylor Hall and Craig Smith on his wings. "That was an all-world play tonight obviously, beating guys 1-on-1. He's moving his feet and going north a little more, I think. He's got a guy on his left wing that can bomb down the wing and a guy on his right wing that can skate.
"I'd say the biggest thing is his pace. He's playing with a little more pace, his wingers are maybe forcing him to do that. He's making plays obviously and finishing plays while he's doing it."
The all-world play Cassidy was referring to was Krejci's filthy feed to Hall on the winger's goal late in the third period. After Smith took a hit to make a dish to Krejci, the centerman corralled the puck in the neutral zone and danced around Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin at the Sabres' blue line.
Krejci then cut toward the slot, toe-dragging around the Sabres' Henri Jokiharju, before shuffling a feed over to Hall, who ripped it home to extend the Bruins' lead to 4-2 with 3:17 remaining.

"The Krejci line has been really good, their 200-foot game," said Cassidy. "A little slow starting tonight, they didn't have it early on. But got going and [on the Hall goal], I think it was a won battle by Smitty. They lost a battle in the O-zone, worked their way back, get a second puck and make a play and, all of a sudden, they're through the neutral zone.
"I think since that line has been together - you'd have to correct me - but I don't think they've been scored on, a 5-on-5 goal. Obviously, they're generating every night, backing teams off, giving us a big offensive boost. Nice job on the power play tonight. And they're accountable defensively. So, what more can you ask for, right? So, good for them."
Krejci, in his typical humble fashion, downplayed his highlight-reel helper.
"There's nothing much to it," said Krejci said. "I knew Hallsy was gonna be there. Things happen really quick on the ice. I'm glad it worked out."
The two-time playoff scoring leader, who turned 35 on Wednesday, also potted his eighth goal of the season - and seventh of the month - with time expiring in the first period. Charlie McAvoy made a strong play at the blue line to stave off Drake Caggiula and sold a shot before dishing back across his body to Krejci, who launched a one-timer from the right circle that clanked off of Buffalo goalie Luukonen and into the net with just 0.3 seconds left in the first to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
"He's a really good playmaker," Krejci said of McAvoy. "He sold the shot and got the goalie committed and made a great feed to me. I just had to hit it hard and half the net was open. He's really good at selling the shot and getting the goalie moving over, giving the shooter more net to shoot at."

Pastrnak Gets One

Goals have not been coming quite as easily for David Pastrnak these days. Entering Thursday night, the winger had just two in his previous 14 games. But he came through against the Sabres with a nice adjustment to a Patrice Bergeron feed that was slightly in front of him, burying a one-timer just inside the right post to open the scoring just 1:16 into the contest. It was Pastrnak's 19th goal of the season and the 199th of his career.
"Yeah, it wasn't a perfect puck, but it was out in front of him," said Cassidy. "He got enough of it, kind of heeled it in there. Again, it'd be good for him to bang a few of those home. I thought he was hitting his shot well on the power play side when he shot it. Obviously, there's some plays in the bumper he looks for and mixing it in with shots. That's up to him to make that call, those are all in the pre-scouts. He seems to be getting through it better so maybe that's a good sign of things to come."