Frederic, Third Line Shine in Bruins' Win Over Philadelphia

BOSTON - During a recent intermission, Bruce Cassidy overheard a conversation in the Bruins' dressing room. Patrice Bergeron was delivering a message to his teammates, particularly some of the younger players, that they were all with the team for a reason and that they should play with that belief.
"No truer words for these guys," said Cassidy. "You're here for a reason and you've made it. You've beaten some people out for a job, so now have the confidence to know that; accept the challenges from the [coaching] staff."
While all of the Bruins' young players appear to be adhering to that message thus far, one in particular seems to be embracing his role with authority. Trent Frederic showed that pretty clearly on Saturday night.

The 22-year-old displayed all of the assets that made him a first-round pick in 2016, as he contributed to a stellar night from the Bruins' third line during a 6-1 drubbing of the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.
"Not just tonight, he's been great since the first game," said Brad Marchand, who notched two goals and an assist in the victory. "He did a great job coming into camp in really good shape and did what he had to do to make the Opening Day roster. He's been awesome. He's not trying to do too much, he's playing hard, he's winning battles, he's always kind of stirring stuff up and getting guys off their game."
Indeed, he is. In addition to picking up his first career point with a nifty assist on Charlie Coyle's second-period tally, Frederic continued to get under the opponent's skin, leading to two Flyers penalties - both on defenseman Mark Friedman. The second, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, clearly stemmed from Frederic's irritating antics and led to Marchand's power-play tally that extended Boston's lead to 5-1 midway through the third period.
The first penalty on Friedman - a holding call in the first period - also led to a power-play goal for the Bruins when Patrice Bergeron cashed in with his first of the night just 14 seconds into the man advantage.
"It's a pretty good skill to have, especially for a younger guy," Coyle said of Frederic's ability to draw, but not take, penalties. "He's done it pretty well. He's earned everything so far, coming in to camp this year. You can tell he was ready, you can tell he put in the work during the offseason. He's earned it and gotten better and better as the weeks go by.
"He's making a difference…he knows what we need from him and he's doing it very well. He's a fun guy to play with, always happy, always talking on the bench. Makes it easy for us to play."

Cassidy has embraced and encouraged Frederic's abrasive style, though he has been adamant that he does not want the St. Louis native to play like "a goof" as he put it following Saturday night's game. Instead, he wants Frederic to continue to irritate the opposition -

• without his own game being dragged down. Frederic joked that all the time he's spending around Marchand is rubbing off on him.
  "The abrasiveness, we welcome it," said Cassidy. "It's one of things we talked to him about…get to the net, finish your checks, be ornery, pissing people off, whatever it needs to be. I think he's bought into all those things. Again, just do your part…you can't run over the goalie, but you've got to get to the top of the crease and the Smith goal was a great example of that, so good for him he took it to heart."
  Frederic finished the night with three shots on goal, two hits, and a plus-2 rating in 14:31 of ice time. But what didn't show up on the scoresheet was his strong drive to the net that helped lead to Smith's first goal as a Bruin at 2:30 of the second period. As Coyle carried the puck into the zone and dished to Smith, Frederic surged toward the crease and got hauled down in front of Flyers goalie Carter Hart, causing just enough of a disruption to allow Smith to swoop in and pot a rebound to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
  "First and foremost, he's a big, strong kid that can skate," said Smith. "He uses his legs. I think he can gain confidence from that. You can see he wants to do the right things. He's talkative on the bench. I think he's very open to changing things on the ice and working with you. I think he did a great job tonight of funneling pucks…ended up in a nice goal."
  That it did. Frederic was at it again later in the second period when he pounced on a loose puck at the top of the left circle and floated a saucer pass toward the front of the net. Coyle, busting hard to the crease, just barely got enough of his stick blade on the feed to tip it past Hart for a 3-1 Boston advantage with 2:10 to go in the frame.
  "I mean, it felt good," Frederic said of his performance. "All four lines played well so it was nice to be a part of that. And all three [defense pairs] and Jaro [Halak] played great in net, too. It was a great team win."

Overall, Boston's new-look third line contributed two even-strength goals with Coyle and Smith both posting two-point outings. Not bad for a trio that was formed during Friday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena, as Cassidy looked to take advantage of Frederic's strong start - he had played the first four games with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner - while trying to spark Anders Bjork by bumping him down to the fourth line.
"We hoped for Coyle and Smitty to get some chemistry," said Cassidy. "Right now, I like what I see with Freddy there. It's just a mindset of we wanted to build a bigger line. Originally, we had [Nick] Ritchie penciled in there. In training camp, I thought he was doing a good job with him, so Ritchie moves up because of some injuries…now Freddy goes in there as the bigger body as opposed to Bjork and speed."
After a 15-game stint in 2018-19 and a brief two-game call-up early last season, it appears that Frederic is finally starting to find his footing at the NHL level. He credits Providence coach Jay Leach and assistants Trent Whitfield and Ryan Mougenel for helping to round out his game during his two-plus seasons with the P-Bruins, particularly when it comes to his skating and strength.
Frederic also complimented his Bruins teammates for embracing him dating back to his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season.
"They make you feel really part of the team," said Frederic. "It's nice starting out in camp, spending all this time in the bubble [last summer] and them getting to know me and myself getting to know everyone else…these are close buddies now.
"They're not just feeding me stuff I want to hear, they're giving me honest opinions, good or bad. That's what good friends do…I feel we're a tight knit group and I just have more experience with these people and they make me feel more comfortable at this point in my life."

Power Surge

The Bruins' power play was a force on Saturday night, converting on three of four opportunities. The three goals all came within the first 31 seconds of the power play and two came within the first 16 seconds.
Bergeron (two goals, assist) notched two of the tallies, backhanding home both from the doorstep in similar fashion - the first at 8:09 of the first and the second at 13:33 of the third. Marchand also potted one on the power play, a laser wrister from the right circle at 7:59 of the third.
"I think it's why you don't hear about, you'd have to talk about it every single night," Marchand said of Bergeron's effort. "He always comes to play, he's always competitive…he brings his best. His effort is unmatched out there.
"It's the reason he's one of the best players in the league and has been for 15 years. Another example of that tonight, stepped up big and led the way on and off the ice."
Ritchie picked up two assists on the power play, one on Bergeron's first goal and one on Marchand's second tally. The winger now has two goals and three assists in five games, with four of the five points coming on the man advantage where he's been a force in front of the net.
"He's really good down around the net," said Marchand. "He's strong on pucks and makes really good, quick little plays. I think we're starting to build that chemistry…it's great to have him there."

On the Board

Jakub Zboril also notched his first career point, picking up an assist on Marchand's second goal of the night. The young blue liner played 19:51, third on the Bruins behind Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy, showing impressive poise, particularly in his own end.
The former first-round pick, who had played just two NHL games entering this season, has gotten off to a strong start in his first extended stay with the big club. With Kevan Miller alongside on the B's third pair, he has settled in nicely over the season's first five games.
"Zboril was a nice surprise," said Cassidy. "And I don't know if surprise was the right word. We just didn't know. We hadn't seen as much from him, but I find that he's going back on pucks, showing lots of courage, lots of poise all wrapped into one. He's coming out of piles with pucks and we knew he could make good plays.
"Now he's going in and winning those battles and has a confidence to compete against men…we like what we've seen so far. He's paired with the right guy as well with Kevan Miller. Kevan Miller's a big brother. He'll have his back and he'll push him in practice, so that's been excellent."