Charlie Coyle had some words to say about losing in the postseason.
The Boston Bruins are preparing for a massive matchup against the Florida Panthers this afternoon. If the Bruins win in regulation, they will be six points ahead of the Panthers for the Atlantic Division lead. Thus, this game has high stakes for both clubs.
No matter what happens with this matchup and from here, the Bruins know that they are playing postseason hockey this year. They have extended their NHL-longest active consecutive playoff streak to eight years, which is quite impressive. However, as fans know, none of those years have resulted in a Stanley Cup for Boston and often have ended in heartbreaking fashion. Last year's collapse is only the latest example.
Bruins forward Charlie Coyle has been a part of some of the Bruins' most infamous recent playoff losses. As a result, he recently appeared on iHeart Radio's "Sore Losers" and discussed the long-term feelings from them.
Charlie Coyle Here's what the veteran center said on the matter: "I’ll let you know when it happens. It still stings. When you don’t win, and especially when you have a good team, or you make it to the finals, and it’s right there. It hurts even more than getting knocked out in four games in the first round.”
Coyle also added: "You realize when you get older, and you play more, you don’t play on these good teams every year. You want to take advantage of it. When you don’t come through and win, it hurts. You can never get it back, but that’s why you keep playing. You come back the next year. Hopefully, this is the year.”
Charlie Coyle Coyle has certainly been on some Bruins clubs that have suffered big-time playoff losses. Besides last season's collapse against the Panthers, Coyle was on the 2019 Stanley Cup Final team that lost to the St. Louis Blues on home ice in Game 7.
While the sting of these losses is still felt by Coyle and his teammates, who were a part of them, they now have the opportunity to flip the script this time around. This year's roster may not be as stacked as the 65-win 2023-23 club, but anything can happen in the playoffs, as we learned last year. Let's see if this is finally the year that the Bruins lift the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2011.