Felger: The Bruins 2nd line is a real problem
Felger thinks that the Boston Bruins 2nd line struggles early in the season are a real problem and he has an idea of what or who is to blame for it.
What has been the Bruins problem early in the season?
Felger: It’s been the Coyle, Marchand, and then I guess they benched Geekie last night and moved up Frederic onto that line. Marchand to me feels like a shadow of himself. He’s showing his age. He’s had, you know, 14 different surgeries in the last couple of years. He’s like 36-37 years old. He left last night’s game with spasms, that’s what Montgomery said. He doesn’t have a goal yet this year. He has three assists. He had multiple chances last night. I feel like he’s lost his high end scoring touch. He doesn’t look to me like the same player. Charlie Coyle, who did score last night, it was his first point of the year. He had been 0-0-0 across the board heading into last night and then he got a goal. So he’s got 1 goal on the year. Charlie Coyle at 32, maybe he’s starting to hit the back nine of whatever he was to begin with, which was never super high anyway. Nice solid player, I like him, but always, I felt, sort of playing a little out of his element in the top six. He’s ideally a third line center, which I think was established a couple of years ago. I felt he had the skill to be more than that, but the point production isn’t there from him to be a top six guy. But he’s your second line center, so you got a guy playing second line center who isn’t a second line center. You have Marchand, who I think is really starting to trail off. And you have no one to play on the other side. So like that whole second line is a complete nothing burger to me. Which is a real problem.
Felger: So that’s what they need to address, which would be great if they had the money. Except they gave it to the goalie. So this is why folks, I didn’t want to give Jeremy Swayman that contract. Because giving a goalie that contract means you can’t have oh I don’t know, players! Skaters! If you’re too expensive in net you pay the price somewhere else and where you’ve paid the price here is that second line.
