Boston Bruins forward Charlie Coyle spoke 1-on-1 with The Hockey News a day after Thursday’s 3-0 win against the San Jose Sharks, discussing the crucial 5-on-3 penalty kill that set the tone for the close-out third period.
BRIGHTON, Mass. – Tensions were rising late in the second period between the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks on Thursday. With Boston protecting a 2-0 lead, Trent Frederic answered the bell against Sharks forward Givani Smith, who laid a hit from behind on Bruins captain Brad Marchand earlier in the period.
Frederic and Smith dropped the gloves at 19:06, and just 28 seconds later, Marchand had his own fight with Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund. Both Marchand (roughing) and Charlie McAvoy (boarding) committed separate minor penalties amid the scrums, and when the dust settled, San Jose received two full minutes of a 5-on-3 power play, most of which would bleed over into the start of the third period.
Despite opening the third with 1:34 of a two-man advantage, and with a chance to get on the board and gain momentum, San Jose failed to record a shot on goal and Boston would go on to win 3-0 with Pavel Zacha scoring the close-out, power-play goal at 6:37.
“I thought it gave us a huge shot in the arm,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Friday. “You could tell the crowd really got into it, too. I thought for the next four or five minutes after that, we kind of took control, and then we got the power-play goal that kind of ended it.”
Bruins forward Charlie Coyle was on the ice for the brunt of the big penalty kill, alongside defensemen Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort. Coyle told The Hockey News on Friday that having the penalty split between the intermission helped their unit prepare for the kill. By getting a preview of what San Jose would roll out during the final 26 seconds of the second period, Boston could take the intermission to solidify a plan, rather than making changes on the fly.
“Sometimes communication gets lost, it’s just more hectic, so that was definitely huge,” Coyle said. “To be able to do that, kind of calm down, look at some things, talk some scenarios over and what they’re probably looking for, looking to do, so I’d say that helped a bunch.”
Coyle said a big point of emphasis was shutting down San Jose forward Mike Hoffman’s one-timer, as well as the typical rules of thumb: Getting sticks in lanes, blocking shots and closing in on the puck near the goal.
The plan they drew up worked to a T, and the Sharks knew they missed a huge opportunity in failing to record a single shot on goal.
“Nobody wants to take the shot, everybody [tries] passing,” Sharks forward Tomas Hertl said on Thursday. “We have zero shots, 5-on-3, it’s a tough situation. We have to be quick, put something on the net because we have two extra guys, so we should get the rebound and stuff, but we couldn’t even get a chance.”
San Jose coach David Quinn said he believed turnovers ruined their chance more so than an unwillingness to shoot, as both Carlo and Zacha registered key takeaways during the kill, but either way, the whole unit stepped up and prevented the Sharks’ chance to turn the tide.
“You want the power play to start overthinking things,” Coyle said. “Sometimes being on the power play, you look for the perfect play. Or if something’s not there, you try something else and you try to look for another way, but I guess that’s a testament to us and the job we did, and being in lanes and taking away maybe the options they’re looking for.”
From there, San Jose responded with more urgency, including a 40-second offensive zone sequence from 3:20 to 4:00 with two shots on goal and two more attempts blocked or missed. But, shortly after, Hampus Lindholm drew a slashing penalty on Sharks defenseman Matt Benning, and Zacha and the power play all but put the game to bed.
Including the 5-on-3 kill, the Bruins’ penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5 on Thursday after allowing at least one power-play goal in each of the previous three games, all losses.
“Just how quickly we read off each other, especially in zone,” Montgomery said about what he liked from the unit as a whole. “I thought we were taking away time and space really effectively.”
Getting back in the win column following a three-game skid, the Bruins are set to face a much more competitive Toronto Maple Leafs team in enemy territory on Saturday, so Coyle and the rest of the team are looking to hammer in the tendencies they re-established against San Jose.
“Staying more tight, staying more together, not opening up lanes and seams, and I think those are kind of the main things,” Coyle said. “And of course, it depends on who you’re playing and what their tendencies are, too, so that plays into it as well and what to expect, but I think just knowing your job [is the key].”