Boston Bruins: 3 players that need to step up in two games vs Flyers

Aug 19, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) shoots against Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Haydn Fleury (4) during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 19, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) shoots against Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Haydn Fleury (4) during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
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Jan 14, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) and New Jersey Devils center Jesper Boqvist (90) battle for the puck during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) and New Jersey Devils center Jesper Boqvist (90) battle for the puck during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins are playing their next two games against the Philadelphia Flyers. With the Flyers being an extremely tough team to beat on most nights, the B’s will need some players to step up.

The Black and Gold are going into this two game series after losing their last two games. First a 2-1 loss against the New Jersey Devils and a 1-0 shutout loss at the hands of the New York Islanders.

The biggest issue through the first three games of the season for Boston has been their inability to consistently create offensive opportunities and score at 5-on-5 — they still don’t have a goal at 5-on-5 play.

With the Flyers banged up — they’ll be missing forwards Sean Couturier and Morgan Frost, and defenseman Phil Myers — these two games are the perfect opportunities for a few key players to gain some momentum and confidence and help the B’s gain four points in the standings.

3. Charlie Coyle needs to step up for the Boston Bruins against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Center Charlie Coyle is in the first year of a six-year extension where he has an annual cap hit of $5.25 million. Although Coyle is the third line center, much more is expected from him.

While he usually plays on the third line at 5-on-5, he also plays on the powerplay and the penalty kill. The fact that he has no points through three games so far is a bit disappointing.

At Coyle’s cap hit, he’s expected to perform a little better. He’s expected to bring up the level of play of his linemates, which just hasn’t been the case.

With the Flyers being shorthanded at center and digging deep to fill their bottom-six, now could be the time for Coyle and the third line to take advantage and get some momentum going.

If Coyle can get it going, this would help Craig Smith and Anders Bjork going, which would infinity help the B’s get going at as a whole.