Bruins Look Ahead After Final Exhibition Game

BOSTON - Charlie Coyle, Taylor Hall, and David Pastrnak scored, but the Bruins fell to the Washington Capitals, 4-3, in overtime on Wednesday night in the preseason finale at TD Garden. Here are some notes and observations from the loss.

Coyle Back In Action

Coyle made his return to action Wednesday night at TD Garden after using training camp to recover from his off-season knee surgery. While recognizing there is still work to be done, the eager center did not disappoint in his debut.
"He looks more fluid," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "There were nights last year where Charlie didn't look himself."
Coyle had the support of talented wingers Taylor Hall and Craig Smith, whose skills help the centerman improve his own game.
"Smitty's pretty quick and can stop on a dime and acceleration. Hallsy just takes off, he's got such a clean and powerful stride, so I try to take bits and pieces from both their strides and emulate it," said Coyle.
As for the line's chemistry, Coyle believes it is only up from here.
"I thought we had some decent plays and definitely some stuff to build on," Coyle said. "Like I said, it's a start, but we definitely have a ways to go with that and I think that's a good thing."
Coyle struck first, tipping in a rebound following a Brad Marchand rocket at 7:28 of the first period to give Boston a 1-0 lead. While scoring is something Coyle wants to continue to do, he was just happy to be back and feeling good.
"I just wanted to make sure I was just getting better, feeling better, said Coyle. Make sure everything was good and just play my game as best I can." Moving forward, Coyle hopes to make his presence more known and is looking forward to the regular season while recognizes that like everything, it takes time to get back up to speed.
"I obviously want to contribute more, but I want to be well-rounded as well in all three zones," said Coyle. "That's going to come with more time, more practice time, of course, once we start playing more meaningful games."

Like a true Boston Bruin, Coyle wanted to do everything he could to remain on the ice last season despite battling though pain that, at times, hampered his game.
"He's a hockey player, right?" Said Cassidy. "So, he would say, I'm OK,' and the medical staff would tell you he had a bit of a knee issue and he said he's just going to have to play through it because once he gets it fixed that's it, right? So, he did."
Cassidy, happy to welcome Coyle back to the ice, was pleased with the center's performance while noting that there is still work to be done.
"I thought Charlie was solid through the middle in terms of accelerating and kicking it out," said Cassidy. "Charlie was obviously able to keep up; obviously first game, so there were some shifts where he was more fatigued than the other guys just from lack of game action, but I thought that was good for him. He played the middle of the ice got it to outside speed, and as a result, there were some good attacks at the net."

All About The Reps

Linus Ullmark took the net and saved 26 of the 30 shots ripped by the Capitals. Despite this being his second overtime loss in the preseason, Ullmark felt good and that things are moving along the way they should.
"I felt like today was a step in the right direction, more natural," said Ullmark. Cassidy put emphasis on the importance of Ullmark getting a lot of action, while recognizing there is still work to be done as the netminder adjusts to a new team and system.
"He had lots of action which is good; he needs it," said Cassidy. "He needs to get playing time. He's just got to tighten up; some pucks are finding their way through him. For a big man, that'll be a challenge."
Ullmark, not lacking confidence, assured he is ready to go for regular season play. "I'm certain that I'm ready to go when the season starts," said Ullmark.
Despite there being room for improvement for Ullmark, Cassidy did not pin the loss on the B's new netminder, who he believes was put in a number of difficult positions throughout the night.
"You're giving up breakaways and 2-on1s in overtime" said Cassidy. "It's just sloppy so you can't put that much on the goalie. You've got goal scorers out there and give them that much time it's a 2-on-1. Not going to put that on him."
The Bruins wrap up the exhibition slate with a 2-1-3 record and will now turn the page to the long road ahead with the regular season set to kick off on Oct. 16 against the Dallas Stars at TD Garden.