Third Line Thrives Again as B's Get Back on Track in Colorado

DENVER- Trent Frederic is enjoying life alongside Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall.
The former first-round pick has been riding shotgun with the veteran duo for the past four games since returning from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for roughly a week.
When you're playing with those two, he acknowledged, life comes easy.
"We're good friends and we like to work hard together," said Frederic. "Right now, the way we're playing, anyone can go together. Just happy to play with those two."

Frederic continued what is, arguably, the best stretch of hockey he has played as an NHLer as he tallied a goal and an assist to help pace the Bruins to a 4-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night in the club's road trip opener. The 24-year-old now has points in four of his last five games (three goals, three assists) and appears to be increasingly confident playing with Coyle and Hall on Boston's new-look third line.
"Those two have helped a lot," said Frederic, who now has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 22 games, just seven shy of his career high from last season (18 in 60 games). "They've been really positive to me, the coaching staff has been really good. [Coach Jim Montgomery's] been pushing me to play with confidence. It's easier said than done but the guys around me have helped a lot.
"I think just holding on to the puck more, knowing that I have maybe an extra second, believing in my skills and the people around me…not so uptight."
The freedom and confidence with which Frederic, who was a healthy scratch in the season opener, has been playing with of late has been obvious to his coaches and teammates alike. Montgomery believes that Frederic playing on his off side - often a detriment to some players - has helped the left-shot make better decisions with the puck.
"I think slowly but surely from the first game of the season where he didn't play, he's gotten better and better," said Montgomery. "I think his confidence has grown. I think what we're seeing now is him getting close to his ceiling. Being on the off side, too, has been a real benefit for him. He can make better plays to the middle because he can carry the puck back.
"The other thing is, I didn't know he had a one-timer, now we're seeing it all the time…he's solidified himself as a third line player."

Frederic potted his third goal in two games - and second rocket one-timer - at 6:24 of the third period to essentially put the game away for Boston, which avoided losing a second game in a row for the first time this season. After some strong puck possession by Coyle, who left a puck for Hall in the left-wing circle, Frederic planted himself in the high slot.
Hall then sent a quick feed to Frederic, who ripped a slapper by Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev to extend the Bruins' lead to three goals early in the final frame.
"It's awesome to see," said Coyle. "Freddy's such a great guy and he's such a great team guy. He'll do anything for anyone. Sometimes it takes a little bit in the league - you find out about yourself and confidence is a great thing when you use it. He's playing the right way and doing the right things and finding the scoresheet. It's huge."
Coyle, who has played with Frederic for extended periods in each of the past three seasons, has been thoroughly impressed by the growth in the St. Louis native.
"He's doing it the right way," said Coyle. "That's so big for us when a guy like that can play that type of game. I think the world of him as a player. I think he can play a big man's game, he can play a skill game. He can do anything really. When you find the scoresheet and help contribute, it helps mentally.
"He's doing a lot of that, he's getting to those good spots to receive those passes. He's got a wicked shot, too. You saw that tonight. He's a goal scorer. I think he's gonna continue to do that when he plays that way. We're gonna continue to feed him the puck."

Coyle, meanwhile, has also been doing his fair share of feeding Hall, who tallied two goals and an assist, while registering a game-high five shots on goal and plus-4 rating. Hall now has five goals in his last four games and is up to 11 for the season.
"It's great. You want to contribute every night. It's fun to see goals go in and it's fun to continue to get chemistry as a line. We haven't been together for too long but that was a really good night for us," said Hall.
"That was kind of a night where the first period wasn't great but we stuck with it and we found our game as a line which is really not easy to do, especially on the road and with the amount of ice time that we had through half the game. That's a really good thing for us."
Just over six minutes after David Pastrnak opened the scoring, Hall doubled the Bruins' lead at 9:50 of the second period. Coyle started the play when he forced a turnover just inside the Colorado blue line and tapped the puck over to Frederic, who swiftly got the puck back to Coyle.
The centerman patiently held on to the puck and skated by an outstretched, diving Samuel Girard in the right-wing circle to find Hall cutting to the crease for the finish.
"He seems confident with the puck," Hall said of Coyle. "Obviously he's using his body to create space out there. He's a really good hockey player. He does so many things well. He scores, he makes plays, defensively is a guy that allows me to know that he's gonna be back there in good spots.
"It was an amazing play on that second goal. I stayed back door and knew that he was gonna look for me and he made a great play there. For a line to play well, the center has to be playing well.
"There's no way in this league that you can have success as a line without the center being a catalyst and being someone that you can really rely on. He's that guy right now."

Coyle also showed off his hulking strength with the puck on Frederic's third-period tally as he held on to it for an extended period in the Colorado end as he created time and space for his linemates.
"He's a beast out there," said Montgomery. "He's putting people on his back and makes plays. He kills penalties for us. He does a lot of great things that help us win hockey games…it makes our depth really good, but what it does is it creates matchups that are very favorable to us."
Hall capped off a banner night for the Bruins' third line when he chased down a loose puck in the neutral zone off a Jake DeBrusk clearing attempt and fired a wrister by the glove of Georgiev on a breakaway to make it 4-0 at 9:42 of the third. The former Hart Trophy winner believes that playing alongside Coyle and Frederic has helped open up opportunities for him to take over shifts.
"I want to be out there as much as I can and I want to have the puck as much as I can," said Hall. "With [David Krejci] and Pasta, there's only one puck out there. At times, it can be hard to get in the game and get as many touches as you want. The line I'm on right now, I get to carry it up the ice a little bit more, I get some more zone time and possession time.
"Freddy's fine being an option in the slot, getting open. Coyler's obviously a guy that can rag guys down low. I think there's a good mix there and I'm enjoying it."
And so are the Bruins.
"When you're with your linemates consistently, you start to know them better and their tendencies, how they play. That's helpful," said Coyle. "We do a lot of talking, too. It's not always pretty. Tonight, we were kind of battling at first and we didn't let frustration creep in.
"We stuck with it, we played the right way - that was our first goal, playing the right way, being tight. They turned it over and we capitalized on that. The game just kind of finds you when you're playing like that. Play the right way and our skill will take over and our compete will help as well."