How Charlie Coyle has Improved the Avs’ Third Line

Charlie Coyle has changed the dynamic of the Avalanche in more ways than one. While the top two lines are offensively dominant, a full team effort wins games.

The 33-year-old forward has fit well on the third line with Ross Colton and Joel Kiviranta. The trio developed chemistry quickly and has been an important force on both sides of the puck.

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“That line’s been phenomenal since his addition, and they play a hard style game. They’re our most effective down-low offensive line when it comes to not just using the points to create offense, but their down-low attack,” head coach Jared Bednar said.

“They’ve been good on the defensive side of things. They get a lot of D-zone starts because his face-off ability as a right shot center. So they’re starting on the wrong end of the ice all the time, but still finding a way to produce offensively and doing a nice job in our own end.”

Coyle is focused on the details of his game and maintaining good habits. When he’s playing the right way, it’s “muscle memory” for him. He is dialed in to not deviate from that success as the Avs continue to vie for a playoff spot.

“It’s not like we can coast in. We want to be playing really good hockey, as everyone does, especially down the stretch, where you want to be playing your best once playoffs comes,” Coyle said. “Everyone wants to stay healthy first and foremost. You stay healthy and you got to go hard. When you start to let up the gas, start doing things wrong and then stuff happens. So you got to play hard, play the right way.”

Mackenzie Blackwood threw something past him at Keaton Middleton while I was talking to him, which interrupted his train of thought. We both tried not to laugh, but it was a perfect display of how fun things are around the locker room right now.

Bednar has been impressed with his third line, which has proven advantageous for the Avalanche. The team struggled with consistency the majority of the season but with recent personnel changes — before and after the trade deadline — that hasn’t been an issue.

“We want to be a line that’s very trustworthy and relied upon, create energy, play big, be physical. Dialing those things. That’s our main focus, and good things will happen from that and we’ll see good results from it too,” Coyle said.

Trust is imperative to players getting more ice time and involvement every night. The Kiviranta — Coyle — Colton combination has earned a great deal from their coach.

“There’s a lot of trust there that’s building. And to me, it’s been a huge addition to our team since he’s been added to that line that they’ve played real good hockey,” Bednar said.

Kiviranta is out with a lower-body injury against the Los Angeles Kings, but Miles Wood will play with Coyle and Colton. He brings a similar energy and grit to the line’s identity and played with Colton last season. Bednar said Kiviranta is day-to-day.