Boyle, movin' on up

I asked Terry Murray about the new O'Sullivan-Boyle-Purcell line, which came together in the third period of Thursday's victory over the Ducks and, by all accounts, looked pretty good. Murray said this morning that he intends to stick with that line tonight. There are also some quotes below about Boyle and how Murray feels Boyle is developing...

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Question: The O'Sullivan-Boyle-Purcell line seemed to work well in the third period. What led you to putting the three of them together?

MURRAY: ``Well, when Boyle got moved to that position, it was more of a result of what happened with that puck going over the glass. It was about composure, not making the play and putting us down on the 5-on-3. That's how that happened, and Boyle seemed to fit in pretty good. They had some very good shifts. They had composure with the puck, they cycled, they were strong on the puck and they were doing the things that they had to do in a 3-3, 4-3 game. It was good for me to see that from three young players.''

Question: Boyle's play has been a frequent topic of conversation. Is he getting closer to where you want him to be, in terms of his game?

MURRAY: ``There are good things that he does in a game. We always want young players to be consistent, to take the ball and run with it a little bit further and push it higher and all that, so I'm watching closely. We'll let him show us, and we'll decide based on what his performance ends up being. You always want a player like that to be successful. He's got size, strength and good hands. He's got a pretty good head on his shoulders when it comes to the game. It's a decision that all young players ultimately have to make, if they're going to take that next step. We can push him and we can talk, and we do talk about areas of the game that need to continually get focus. We reassure him with the positives, and then it's up to the player himself.''

Question: He had been playing primarily a fourth-line role. This is obviously different. Is this an attempt to bring out something different in his game?

MURRAY: ``It's a little bit of a different look, but a lot of his game has to be the same. Throughout the lineup, when you play in the NHL there are requirements. You put him on the fourth line, where Teddy Purcell started out, and we're looking for him to do the little things, the hard things, playing from the dots to the boards on a consistent basis. I think he has started to show us that, and as a result of that, you get put into a more responsible position. So we'll see where that goes and we'll see how he handles things against these teams. We've got a good team in here tonight, just as we did the other night against Anaheim, so we'll see how he deals with the responsibilities.''