Charlie Coyle talks preseason debut and new role, and Jim Montgomery discusses progress of Matt Poitras and Jesper Boqvist ahead of the Bruins preseason matchup with Philadelphia
BRIGHTON, Mass. – The Boston Bruins travel to Philadelphia Monday night to take on the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m. (TV: NESN | Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub).
For those keeping track at home, the Bruins are 1-1-1 so far this preseason, coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers in Boston on Friday.
The Bruins practiced at Warrior Ice Arena before traveling to Pennsylvania, and this is how they lined up:
Jake DeBrusk - Charlie Coyle - Fabian Lysell
Jesper Boqvist - Matt Poitras - Marc McLaughlin
AJ Greer - Morgan Geekie - Oskar Steen
Anthony Richard - Patrick Brown - Justin Brazeau
Hampus Lindholm - Ian Mitchell
Mike Callahan - Brandon Carlo
Dan Renouf - Reilly Walsh
Jeremy Swayman
Brandon Bussi
Notably, Jeremy Swayman is slated to make his first preseason appearance after Linus Ullmark made his 2023 preseason debut in Friday’s shootout loss.
Charlie Coyle will also make his first preseason appearance, beginning his role as one of Boston’s top line centers.
“It’s an opportunity that’s available and I’m ready for it,” Coyle said. “I’ve been working towards this my whole career and wanted to play in a role this caliber. You always want to improve your game. You want to be a guy who can be reliable in all situations, and that’s what I pride myself on.”
Already a staple on the penalty kill, Coyle is likely to see more time on the power play this season, and he’ll have his first opportunity of the year on Monday.
“I think Charlie’s a guy that can handle a lot of ice,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “He’s blessed physically with his size (6-3, 218 pounds), but also with his capabilities and endurance.”
Matt Poitras will get another look on the power play. The 19-year-old scored on the man advantage in Boston’s 3-0 win against the New York Rangers in their first preseason game on Sept. 24.
He was amongst the prospects separated from the veteran group in Sunday’s training group shake-up, but Montgomery praised the way Poitras has progressed through camp so far.
“He’s getting better every day in camp, and now we’re going on the road,” Montgomery said. “Usually when you go on the road in the NHL, you get a better lineup of NHL players. … We have this situation to see how he does on the road.”
Jesper Boqvist will play on Poitras’ line on Monday. He scored 10 goals and 21 points in 70 games with the New Jersey Devils last season, and after Sunday’s practice, he appears to be inside the roster bubble as it currently stands.
Montgomery said players fighting for roster spots needed to help “build the team game,” making plays at both ends and playing fast, and that’s what Boqvist has been doing as of late.
“[Boqvist] started slow, but he’s gotten a lot better and really good,” Montgomery said. “He’s making a lot of smart plays. You see his strengths coming out, which is the speed, his skill and his ability to ‘think’ the game and build our team game. We’ve been happy with his development throughout camp.”
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