Frederic Finally Gets His First

BostonBruins.com - A first National Hockey League goal is always a memory to cherish.
It's a moment that is impossible to forget. That, of course, is under normal circumstances. Add in Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada, and an outdoor NHL game and you really have a first goal to remember.
That was Trent Frederic on Sunday night as the 23-year-old potted the first of his career as part of the Bruins' four-goal barrage during the second period of their 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at NHL Outdoors.
The former first-round pick took a cross-ice feed from John Moore, settling the bouncing puck before quickly ripping a wrister by Flyers goalie Carter Hart from the top of the right circle to extend Boston's lead to 5-2 with 3:13 left in the middle frame.

"It was kind of a pinch yourself moment," said Frederic. "It was a little different, obviously, being outdoors, no fans. You don't exactly get the loud noise and stuff. It took me a little to realize how real it was. It was cool."

Frederic's tally came just 33 seconds after Charlie Coyle's third of the season and just 1:06 before Nick Ritchie's power-play marker, giving Boston three goals in a span of 1:39 to open up a 6-2 advantage after 40 minutes. It was a strong offensive showing for a team that had struggled to generate much during two consecutive losses.
"We haven't scored a lot lately," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "It just happened to fall on an outdoor game, but we knew we needed to do some things better. And you get on a bit of a roll and you start shooting pucks and it gets contagious. You see different guys chipping in.
"Trent Frederic is a great example. Just getting a shot through to the net. I know that goal was a little later, but obviously your big guns have to score. [David Pastrnak] brought it today and it was a trickle-down effect.
"Good for our guys. We needed it. You're going to take any win you can get but we needed some offense. I think for guys to start feeling a little better about themselves and it turned out that way."
Frederic has fit in nicely so far this season in a bottom-six winger role, but points have been hard to come by. The St. Louis native had just one assist on his resume before Sunday night and was 32 games into his NHL career without finding the back of the net. As such, Cassidy felt that the breakthrough goal could provide Frederic with a bit of relief that could benefit him moving forward.
"Getting his first NHL goal - took him a while - that's always a great thing to sort of get behind you and look forward to the next one," said Cassidy. "I think for him, that's probably a nice moment - anytime you get your first NHL goal. And you get it in an outdoor game."

Early Exit

The Bruins, once again, lost a defenseman mid-game, this time in the opening minutes of Sunday's outdoor contest. Jeremy Lauzon played just 34 seconds before exiting with an upper-body injury. Cassidy did not have an update following the game.
"I don't have much on Lauzon," said Cassidy. "He left. He'll get a complete evaluation [on Monday] and then, obviously, we'll have a better update for you on Tuesday."

Getting His Chance

With Matt Grzelcyk (lower-body), Jakub Zboril (upper-body), and Kevan Miller (load management) already sidelined, the Bruins needed to dive deep into their blue line depth, recalling Urho Vaakanainen from Providence. The 23-year-old put forth a strong performance in his season debut, picking up an assist on Pastrnak's second goal for his first career point, while landing three shots on goal in 23:28 of ice time - which ranked second on the Bruins behind Charlie McAvoy's 23:59.
"I thought he got better as the game went on. He's a good hockey player. We know that. He's waited for his opportunity," said Cassidy. "And again, there's always going to be competition. A good chance for him to step up. He earned his way into the lineup first and foremost, and then when Lauzy goes down, I thought the rest of the group did a great job too."
Moore, playing in just his third game of the season, notched two assists in 22:39. It appeared that he might have picked up his first goal of the season in the second period, but the power-play tally was awarded to Ritchie, who just got a piece of Moore's point shot. Brandon Carlo, meanwhile, landed a team-high four hits and also donned the second 'A' as an alternate captain with David Krejci out with injury.
"Johnny Moore, [Connor Clifton] had to bounce back and forth," said Cassidy. "You can always pretty much rely on McAvoy and [Brandon] Carlo to give you steady minutes. But good for Vaak. We'll see where we are when we get home, health-wise. But all three of our left D are out.
"We started with, the start of the year, a younger group…now we've lost all of them. Good for the guys for stepping up. Good team win."

A Tip of the Cap

The players weren't the only ones impressing with their wardrobe choices
on Sunday afternoon. Cassidy and his coaches donned some slick gold varsity jackets with the vintage Spoked-B on the chest. Boston's bench boss also donned a scally cap gifted to him by Doc Emrick, a hat tip to the legendary broadcaster who retired late last year.
"I love the guys look," Cassidy said of the players' 90s-themed outfits. "You don't get a lot of chances to bond this year, and this was one that they took advantage of in their dress code so good for them. Scally cap, that was in honor of doc Emrick. A great guy.
"He sent those to a number of us after the last outdoor game [at Notre Dame Stadium]. Always enjoyed chatting with Doc. The Bruins miss him - had a great career. That was just a bit of a tip of the cap for him."