Before injuries and a benching caused a shuffle in lines, Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery reunited the van Riemsdyk-Coyle-Frederic line, which contributed a goal in Boston’s 5-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
BOSTON – Jim Montgomery continues to test different line combinations for the Boston Bruins, but one has proven time and time again that it shouldn’t be broken apart.
Charlie Coyle has stepped up as a major producer in all situations, Trent Frederic brings a physical edge with scoring upside, and newcomer James van Riemsdyk brings experience and offensive ability that’s punching well above his $1 million salary. All together, they’re arguably the Boston Bruins’ best line of 2023-24.
That seems crazy to say about a middle six line that doesn’t have David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand, but the numbers back it up.
The JVR-Coyle-Frederic line has played a total of 122:07 together this season, which is second-most on the team behind Marchand, Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha (126:22), and while the latter line has produced one more goal than the former at 5-on-5 (8-7), Coyle’s line has held up better defensively.
The Zacha line has allowed six goals while Coyle's line has allowed just two. Zacha's line has also allowed more high-danger chances at 5-on-5 than it has produced (20-33). The JVR-Coyle-Frederic line, meanwhile, has produced 33 such chances while allowing 25.
“I think just playing simple, trying to play low, holding on to pucks; I think that’s when we’re at our best,” Frederic said after Saturday’s win.
Frederic assisted Coyle to put Boston up 2-0 at 16:10 of the first period. The three worked through the neutral zone with quick passes before Coyle dumped it in. Van Riemsdyk applied the forecheck at the end boards, which pressured Coyotes defenseman Sean Durzi to turn the puck over to Frederic, who sent a cross-ice pass to Coyle at the net front.
“It was a quick turnover, and [Frederic] was getting it, so I just tried to play myself there,” Coyle said. “He fired it. It was a stick there, but he still made a great pass, and I honestly didn’t do much with it. I just tried to keep my stick there, and he made it happen.”
Their line was broken up again after Zacha exited after the first period with an upper-body injury, and Matt Poitras was benched for much of the third period, meaning Frederic and Morgan Geekie were rolled out at center instead.
“I used Frederic a lot in the center position, too. In the pivot position,” Montgomery said Saturday. “It’s a demanding position for us, especially down low. I figured we’re gonna spend a lot of time down low in the third period, just with the way they were pressing, and that’s the way it worked out.”
Aside from those fill-in situations, the Bruins may need to slow down the experiment phase and commit to keeping their best line together.