The Wraparound is your daily look at the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. We’ll break down each day’s matchups with the all-important television and live streaming information included.
From the start, the Ryan Donato-Charlie Coyle swap in February paid immediate dividends for the Minnesota Wild. The 23-year-old Donato was squeezed out in Boston, but found a home with the Wild recording seven points in his first five games with his new team.
Coyle, meanwhile, took a little while to heat up. It took him eight games to record his first point with the Bruins and 10 games to score his first goal. In 21 regular season games in Boston, the 27-year-old forward scored twice and recorded four points. Donato had four goals and 16 points in 22 games, so there was some wonder when this move was going to pay off for Don Sweeney.
It took until the playoffs, but Coyle has become a big piece of the Bruins’ secondary scoring. His two goals Thursday night, which included the overtime winner, helped Boston take a 1-0 series lead against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Secondary scoring is something we need,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “We lacked it at times this year and we’ve found it and it’s really helped us. He’s been a big part of that. Very happy for him. He’s a hard working guy.”
Through eight games, Coyle leads the Bruins with five goals and is second on the team in points with nine. The Weymouth, Mass. native made his biggest impact in Game 1 in front of the hometown fans. It was a dream come true.
“I think in Minnesota they didn’t have much luck getting to the second round so he’s probably excited,” said Cassidy. “He’s advancing. Now you’re at home. Now you’re the hero. I think it’s awesome. Good for him. Great story.”
Game 2 of Bruins-Blue Jackets is Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC (Live stream).
[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Game 2: Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues, 3 p.m. ET. (Blues lead 1-0) Despite being down in the series, the Stars were pleased with how they played in Game 1. They didn’t get to capitalize on many big chances, and when they had them Jordan Binnington was in the way. Now they eye a series split before heading home for Games 3 and 4. “I thought we penetrated middle ice well, I thought we had depth to our attack,” said Stars head coach Jim Montgomery. “They did a good job of blocking shots and getting some sticks on some passes, but for the most part, we were better offensively than I expected in Game 1, and we have to continue to get better, because tonight wasn’t good enough.” (NBC; Live stream)
FRIDAY’S SCORES
Hurricanes 1, Islanders 0 (OT)
Sharks 5, Avalanche 2
PHT’s Round 2 previews
• Round 2 schedule, TV info
• Questions for the final eight teams
• PHT Roundtable
• Blue Jackets vs. Bruins
• Hurricanes vs. Islanders
• Blues vs. Stars
• Avalanche vs. Sharks
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.