2. The Boston Bruins’ third line continued to shine.
Since the third game of the season, the B’s third line has been the team’s best line. The duo of Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith has proved to be extremely effective at 5-on-5.
Even with Anders Bjork, who hasn’t been very noticeable since the first period of the first game, on their left wing, Coyle and Smith have created scoring chance after scoring chance.
Now, with Trent Frederic on their left wing, Coyle and Smith have been able to bring up their play to another notch that no one knew was possible.
While Frederic hasn’t produced anything more than an assist so far this season, this isn’t an accurate representation of how well he’s been playing. He’s made the right plays and has brought energy, tenacity, and toughness to the team. His style of play complements Coyle and Smith nicely and helps them bring their game to the next level.
This play continued last night as the line created several good scoring opportunities throughout the game and had several shifts where they held the puck in the offensive zone and sustained pressure on the Penguins’ defense.
Although they didn’t score, they were the most noticeable and overall best line of the night.