Bruins forward Charlie Coyle ruled out for Thursday vs. Rangers
The Bruins will have to get through Thursday’s contest against the Rangers without the services of Charlie Coyle, who has been ruled out of action with an upper-body injury, per Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy.
“He’s out tonight and we’ll list him as day-to-day,” Cassidy said following Thursday’s morning skate at TD Garden. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow for practice. If he participates, obviously Saturday becomes a realistic time for him [to return]. We’ll see tomorrow on that, but definitely not playing tonight.”
Coyle logged just one shift in the third period of Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Devils, and appeared to be in some discomfort after he took a Brandon Carlo shot up high towards the end of the second period.
With Coyle out, the Bruins will give Jake DeBrusk another shot on the right side of Boston’s third line, this time with Sean Kuraly at center and Nick Ritchie on the left.
“I think he had some [good] shifts the other night, other shifts that could be better,” said Cassidy. “So we’ll keep drilling down on him like every other player. But that’s where I think he can contribute the most if he stays on pucks because he does have an ability to separate if he does win them, can finish if he gets time and space. So that’s what we’ll keep asking him to do.”
DeBrusk has gone 12 straight games without a goal, and has just two assists in 11 games since the trade deadline. Overall, the 24-year-old wing has totaled four goals and 11 points in 37 appearances this season.
DeBrusk’s bump up to the third line will see Cassidy’s squad roll with a fourth line featuring Karson Kuhlman to the right of Trent Frederic and Curtis Lazar.
Jeremy Swayman will get the call in net for the Bruins. Swayman enters this start with six wins and a .942 save percentage in eight starts this season, and is coming off a 17-save victory in his last outing, a 6-2 final over the Sabres on May 1.
The Bruins enter this contest with a league-best 10-2-1 record since the trade deadline, and with victories in four of their six head-to-heads with the Rangers this season.
Here’s the complete lineup and pairings for the Bruins…
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall – David Krejci – Craig Smith
Nick Ritchie – Sean Kuraly – Jake DeBrusk
Trent Frederic – Curtis Lazar – Karson Kuhlman
Jeremy Lauzon – Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk – Brandon Carlo
Mike Reilly – Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
