Jumping from the third line to the first following two significant retirements is a major challenge. But the Bruins have hardly missed a beat, largely thanks to Charlie Coyle.

For five seasons, Charlie Coyle watched and learned and waited. When he was essentially put into what could have been an untenable situation, he was more than ready to respond. 

While the Boston Bruins haven’t exactly not missed a beat after losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krecji, they’ve held up remarkably well.

Imagine being Coyle and playing third-line minutes for five years, wanting more but mired behind two franchise lynchpins. It’s easy to say you want more responsibility, and it’s another to accept it and thrive the way Coyle has this season, with 51 points in 63 games. 

“You always want more,” Coyle said after the Bruins’ 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday night. “It’s hard to play consistently when you’re in an inconsistent role. I learned a lot from those two guys, but once they retired, it was like, ‘Hey, there’s an opportunity here and that is something that I want.’ You always want more from yourself and when you get more responsibility, you have to take advantage of it.”

As someone who was joined to the hip with Bergeron as a player, Brad Marchand probably stood the most to lose by Bergeron retiring. But he actually loves playing with Coyle, saying Coyle might be the best player with whom he’s ever played when it comes to holding onto the puck until the best play presents itself.

“He’s been incredible,” Marchand said of Coyle. “He’s been kind of sitting in the weeds, waiting for that opportunity. It’s pretty simple with him. He comes to the rink every day, works as hard as he can and always tries to improve and get better. And he’s thriving.”

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