By Chad Graff
St. Paul Pioneer Press
ST. PAUL - With 15 seconds remaining in the first period of the Wild’s home opener Saturday, Charlie Coyle corralled the puck off a defensive zone faceoff, flipped it off the boards in front of the Wild bench, beat two defensemen to retrieve it, then flipped a pretty backhand for the first goal in a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
Those 10 seconds encapsulated all the reasons the Wild believe Coyle is primed for a breakout season.
There’s the speed he used to beat Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson to the loose puck, the physicality he used to win a puck battle against all-star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, and the finishing backhand that tied it all together.
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As the Wild place an emphasis on running three scoring lines, Coyle is being counted on to make the third line a consistent threat.
Through two games, he has two goals and an assist, building on a preseason in which he finished second in the NHL in assists (seven in four games) and third in points with eight.
“We needed that type of game from Charlie,” coach Mike Yeo said after the Wild improved to 2-0 Saturday night.
Now, as they manage four days between games, Yeo is stressing the importance Coyle has on the third line.
In recent years, he said, successful NHL teams have abandoned the aforementioned traditional format of lines, instead using three scoring lines and a capable fourth line.
“Chicago is a pretty good example of that,” Yeo said.
Where a team’s third line traditionally was used to check an opponent’s top line, Yeo rolled all four lines against various opponents the first two games, including shifts where his fourth line played against St. Louis’ vaunted first.
Much of that stems from the reality that the Wild’s third line hasn’t been built to strictly play defense, evidenced by the fact that Thomas Vanek has played there this season.
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“There’s no question we’re not piecing that line together to be a checking line,” Yeo said. “We want that to be a line that can contribute. That’s the way most teams are built in the NHL now.
“It’s not like you’ve got two scoring lines, then a checking line, then a physical line. Now teams have three lines that can really score and then a fourth line that’s a real strong checking line. That’s our intention.”
Through two games, the new format has paid dividends.
Vanek, often criticized for his defensive play, assisted on one of Coyle’s two goals Saturday and scored the tying goal in the Wild’s come-from-behind win at Colorado last Thursday.
If the Wild can continue successfully sending out three scoring lines, it will help most dramatically on the road, where the opposition gets to choose its line after seeing what Yeo picks.
As the Wild prepare for a three-game road trip that begins Thursday in Arizona, Yeo wants to see if the Wild can make this strategy work.
“If we can saw off a shift against (their top line with our fourth line), it might give us an opportunity to take advantage of a matchup somewhere else,” Yeo said. “It’s important that we can throw those guys out there against anybody, and it’s important that we can do that with every line. It makes things a lot easier as a coach.
“You don’t just have to coach matchups based on personnel; you can coach in terms of the situation of a game. That’s a nice luxury to have.”
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Briefly
With four days between games, the Wild took Monday off. They’ll return to practice Tuesday and Wednesday before playing the Coyotes in Arizona on Thursday night.
The Pioneer Press is a media partner with the Forum News Service.
