All we needed was David Krejci pulling up to the left faceoff dot, faking a shot and instead feeding Charlie Coyle on a dime of a backdoor pass that Coyle deposited into the Sharks net for us to know that Krejci was indeed back.
An upper-body injury kept Krejci on the sidelines for the Bruins previous five contests after playing in the team’s first five games. Recovering from an injury sustained in the preseason, Krejci simply did not look himself to begin the 2019-20 campaign.
However, Krejci’s game in the Bruins 5-1 thumping of the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night was the Krejci of old.
A healthy and productive Krejci.
"There were some shifts I felt good, but there were some shifts where I had the puck on my stick and I lost it. No one was around me and I just lost it. But that’s understandable, I am sure that’ll come back. Some good stuff, some not so good. But definitely some stuff I can build on for sure,” Krejci said of his return to the Bruins lineup.
“Scoring a goal in the first period helps. But honestly, it was so good to be out there with the guys. They’ve been playing some really good hockey lately, and I just wanted to be a part of it. I’ve only been on the sidelines. Happy we got the points tonight.”
As Krejci mentioned, the second line center picked up his first goal of the season, stealing a page from David Pastrnak’s playbook with a power play one-timer from the left faceoff circle.
“He’s a pro, he’s been around, he’s a Stanley Cup champion. Like, we need him to pull that line along,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s got a constant in [Jake] DeBrusk and then whoever’s on that other side.”
It was Danton Heinen on the other side of Krejci as he finished the night with 19:19 of ice time, three shots and two points.
The Bruins were clicking on all cylinders against the Sharks, a game where the Bruins could have easily won by six or seven goals. Krejci certainly pulled his line along and the rest of the team seemingly followed suit.
“That’s what we want him to do, because there’s going to be nights that Bergy [Patrice Bergeron], that line is going to get neutralized,” added Cassidy. “It doesn’t look that way right now, but we know it’s going to happen. So then you need some other guys going.”
With Bergeron and Krejci anchoring the Bruins top two lines, Coyle slides back into the role he was expecting to thrive in when he was traded to Boston last February.
As the team’s third line center, Coyle gives the Bruins another reliable pivot, making the Bruins as deep as they come down the middle.
“Now you get Coyle, now, that’s two games in a row he’s been all over the puck. So all of a sudden, you’ve got three lines that are a threat to score,” said Cassidy. “And you’ve got your fourth line that you know is going to give you quality minutes, so things are shaping up up front.”
It’s not often that Krejci and Coyle will find themselves on the ice together. But in the brief time they spent together Tuesday night, things worked out just fine for the duo.
“I was just trying to find the open seam and we kind of made eye contact,” Coyle said of his connection with Krejci. “I don’t know if it went under a stick or over the defender’s stick. But he put it right there. I just lean on my stick and it goes in. That’s the type of passes he can make. You’ve just got to be ready for them and put yourself in position. Because he’s going to put it there more times than not.”
Coyle only has two goals on the season, but his presence in the lineup has been felt more often than not. His ability to track down pucks and cause havoc for his opponents is a very underrated part of his game and part of his game that makes his line a dangerous one.
His growing chemistry with Brett Ritchie and the speed of a young Anders Bjork perfectly complements Coyle’s game.
“I find that Coyle and Ritchie seem to have started to figure each other out a little bit,” added Cassidy. “And I like Bjork’s speed on that side.”
As Cassidy mentioned, eventually or maybe, the Bergeron line will hit a speed bump and come back down to earth at some point. When, or if, that does happen, the Krejci and Coyle lines will be ready to pick up the slack.
“I’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty good passes backdoor. But, it’s just trying to find those spots. The chances are there and the shots are there for the most part. It’s a matter of finishing the job and my teammates have done a great job on the last couple to kind of help me out and find me,” added Coyle.
“I’m just trying to play the right way. Whether it finds the scoresheet or not, I want to be doing the right things and be hard to play against.”
It was a special night all-around for Coyle who had some important eyes on him.
Quinn Waters, or better known as “The Mighty Quinn” was hoping to see his fellow Weymouth, Mass resident score a goal Tuesday night.
Coyle made his wish come true.
Waters, an amazing three-year old has battled a form of brain cancer since the day after his third birthday. After surgery to remove a tumor on his brain stem, Waters was isolated to his home. Even though he wasn’t able to leave the house, Waters was able to enjoy the outside world as much as he could thanks to a street-facing window that allowed family and friends to stop by and pay a visit to the brave three-year old.
Coyle became one of those friends who had the privilege of visiting Quinn at his “Quinndow.”
On Hockey Fights Cancer night at TD Garden, it was Quinn this time paying a visit to his friend Charlie, and got himself quite the gift from his new friend.
"He's out and about and getting to live his life. It's great that he's feeling healthier and healthier. I think it was pretty emotional. I bet, for them, you feel the emotions in yourself, you see him walking out, giving the fist pumps and the crowd on their feet,” said Coyle. "I mean, he deserves it, him and his family deserve it. You don't even realize or know what they go through.”
Quinn had to be pretty happy with Coyle and the Bruins efforts Tuesday night. Something tells me Quinn is really going to enjoy the season Coyle is about to have.
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