Jim Montgomery names Charlie Coyle's sister MVP of Bruins' siblings trip

BOSTON -- Having the siblings of all the players on a hockey team go along for a two-game road trip is the recipe for a lot of fun. Setting that up for a two-game road trip to Dallas and Nashville? That ups the fun quotient a considerable amount.

And make no mistake about it: The siblings of the Boston Bruins had themselves a very fun week.

With their brothers and sisters watching from suite level, the Bruins pulled off a comeback, overtime win in Dallas on Tuesday before winning in blowout fashion in Nashville on Thursday.

And while seemingly every brother and sister on the trip enjoyed themselves, head coach Jim Montgomery said that one sibling stood out as the trip's MVP: Jill Coyle.

"Well the MVP that I saw was Charlie Coyle's sister. She had so much energy and positive -- she was awesome," Montgomery said Friday after the Bruins' optional skate in Brighton. "Very confident woman who brought a lot of laughs and camaraderie among the group when I was around them."

Coyle, who obviously hails from Weymouth, wasn't totally shocked to learn of that assessment from his coach.

"Oh boy," a smiling Coyle said. "Yeah, she's got a big personality."

Coyle said that the trip might have started out as "kind of an awkward thing" with a bunch of strangers getting together. But with the help of some friendly conversation "and maybe a few beverages," everyone ended up having a wonderful trip.

"They left it all out there, the siblings," Coyle said. "And my sister was definitely one of them."

Coyle added that his sister is known as the best athlete in his family, and that he and his sister have always supported each other and attended each other's games. Getting to share this particular trip was, of course, special.

"She had never been there before, too, and I have talked highly of it. I love Nashville," Coyle said. "So we had a good time just kind of exploring and seeing what's around, and hanging with the other siblings and the guys. But it was a pretty special trip. I know everyone's gonna remember it for a while. We got some good pictures and things to look back on. But she had a blast -- is an understatement."

The Bruins -- who have taken their moms and dads on separate road trips throughout the years -- won both games on the road trip. That's generally been the case for the 41-8-5 Bruins. But they had been on a bit of a mini-skid, having gone 1-3-1 in their five games prior to the trip. They won these games with strong play ... but also with a bit of an energy boost from the fans they knew they had in the building.

"I thought they brought really good energy to the trip," Montgomery said of the siblings. "And I thought that our play, you could tell the guys were excited to play."