Bruins Charlie Coyle not very confident in his prediction for the series.

Charlie Coyle not all that confident.

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HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Bruins Charlie Coyle not very confident in his prediction for the series.
Anthony Nesmith/CSM/Zuma

The Boston Bruins were good enough during the 2018 - 2019 National Hockey League regular season to finish with the NHL's third best record but, after 5 grueling games against the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first round playoff match up in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, they are down in the series and facing down elimination. The Bruins have fallen 3 - 2 in the series and must now win back to back games, including Game 6 on the road in Toronto, if they want to advance to the second round of this year's playoffs.

Thankfully for the Bruins there are a number of veteran players on their roster who have been there and done just that, and frankly have done it on a much bigger stage than the one they will do battle on this Sunday. The Bruins of course famously came back from a 3 - 2 series deficit over the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and did so in the Finals no less, eventually coming all the way back on Vancouver to snatch the Stanley Cup from them in their own building. Players like Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, Bruins agitator Brad Marchand and Bruins star forward Patrice Bergeron are all players who were a part of that historic Bruins moment and you can bet they will be relied on heavily today.

Not every member of the Bruins line up has been there and done that however and it is more than fair to wonder how some of the Bruins less experienced players will handle the pressure of an elimination game on the road. One player who has certainly drawn some eyeballs to himself this evening is Bruins forward Charlie Coyle who had a not so confident prediction to make regarding the series. Coyle was of course trying to talk up his team, suggesting that if they focused on their game plan they would triumph, but the lack of confidence in his answer was quickly detected.

“Every time we’re down, that next game, we’re right back to it,” Coyle said in reference to this see-saw series, as per the Boston Globe.. “It’s like we play with our backs against the wall, we come out with that fire. It’s how it should be every time. I know every game’s not perfect, and bounces happen. If we stick to it, more times than not, we’re going to win. We should, anyway.”

It is of course that last bit that stood out to journalists who heard Coyle make the quote, and this is not just some spin by the Toronto media to try and show cracks in the Bruins line up. Even the local media in Boston took note of the lack of confidence from Coyle, and even they were quick to point to it as a potential issue. 

Here's how Matt Porter of the Boston Globe put it:

Ask the two No. 1 seeds, Tampa Bay and Calgary, who are now making tee times: As currency, “should” is no good this time of year.

While the questions about Coyle are certainly fair given his comments he has been solid for the Bruins since joining the team and does have 49 games of playoff experience under his belt at the NHL level. He boasts a plus minus rating of -15 over those games but also has 9 goals and 9 assists for 18 points over that stretch as well. There's no doubt in my mind though that any mistakes from Coyle tonight will end up under a microscope as a result of these comments.

{{RECOTOOL}

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