Bruins
“The great part about the Bruins is the leaders will do whatever is best for the Bruins.”
It wasn’t too long ago that Kevin Shattenkirk was seemingly on the outside looking in at a starting spot on Boston’s playoff roster.
With Jim Montgomery opting for a bit more defensive fortitude further down the depth chart with a pairing of Parker Wotherspoon and Andrew Peeke, Shattenkirk was tabbed as a scratch for three straight games in April.
What a difference a week can make.
The 35-year-old blueliner is not only expected to draw into the lineup for Game 1 against Toronto on Saturday night. He’s also going to be tasked with helping revive Boston’s stagnant top power-play unit.
“I prepared myself for it and just worked hard and stayed ready,” Shattenkirk said Friday of earning a spot back in the lineup. “I figured that I would get at least some of those games down the stretch, but not really knowing where I would fit going into Game 1.
“I just tried to stay ready and be ready for the power play, whatever it might be. And just happy with how things turned out. Obviously, I’m excited to get into Game 1 tomorrow.”
Boston’s power play labored down the final stretch of the regular season, cashing in on just 9.4% of their bids (3-for-32) over its last 12 games.
Getting that man advantage humming again stands as a top priority for Boston in its first-round bout — especially against a Leafs penalty kill that ranked 23rd in the league this season with just a 76.9% success rate.
Montgomery has overhauled Boston’s top power-play grouping over the last week, placing Shattenkirk in Charlie McAvoy’s usual spot at the blue line and slotting out Brad Marchand in favor of Danton Heinen as the skater anchored by the half wall.
It’s a sizable switch for Boston, even with a few familiar faces still entrenched on that top unit in David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha.
“I always think you leave your top unit together,” Montgomery noted. “But it was too much of a prolonged time where I think they were stale … Didn’t matter who had the puck. There was no movement, there was no purpose to what we were doing.
“We were fading away from the net instead of going and converging towards the net. And both units today were converging towards the net. So I’m just happy with the pace of the power play.”
Shattenkirk has crafted a lengthy resume as a proven power-play QB — with the former BU Terrier recording 210 points on the man advantage over his 14-year NHL career.
While McAvoy has the lateral skating ability to corral pucks up high, Shattenkirk operates at a quicker pace — while also showing a tendency for peppering the net whenever a convergence of skaters builds up near Grade-A ice.
That reworked top power-play personnel impressed in Boston’s regular-season finale against Ottawa on Tuesday. Boston went 1-for-2 on the power play in that 3-1 loss, with a shot from Shattenkirk leading to a second-chance bid and tally from Zacha.
Even though the optics of two star talents in McAvoy and Marchand getting pushed down to the second power-play unit (alongside Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, and Morgan Geekie) may not be flattering, Montgomery believes his leaders have no qualms with their new designation.
“The great part about the Bruins is the leaders will do whatever is best for the Bruins,” Montgomery said. “If they think having two units going one minute each is what’s going to give us the pace and the purpose to have success? They’re all in.”
Frederic looking to break through in postseason
Trent Frederic’s coveted blend of scoring punch and snarl is seemingly built for playoff hockey.
But the 26-year-old forward did not make much of a dent during his first two trips to the postseason in 2022 and 2023. In nine career playoff games against the Hurricanes and Panthers, Frederic has not recorded a point — while averaging just 9:35 of ice time per contest.
It’s a stark contrast from the growth that Frederic has showcased over the last two regular seasons, with the St. Louis native setting new career-highs in 2023-24 in goals (18), points (40), and average ice time (13:45).
For Don Sweeney, the focus for Frederic during the postseason revolves around keeping things simple — especially in the offensive zone.
“Most of [what] we talk about with Trent is play with pace and emotion, and the rest of the game seems to follow suit,” Sweeney said. “The playoffs should lend to that if he can channel those energies and get to the interior ice. I think it’s an area that he himself can do a better job of now that he has more experience having gone through those things.
“We’re excited about the progression that Trent has shown the last two seasons, and hopefully that translates starting Saturday.”
The last time the Bruins orchestrated a deep playoff run in 2019, a third line of Charlie Coyle, Danton Heinen, and Marcus Johansson caught fire and generated plenty of secondary scoring. Boston needs a similar result this spring from Frederic and linemate Morgan Geekie, who has two goals in 24 playoff games.
“I kind of take that approach throughout the season,” Frederic said of staying in the moment. “Just kind of the way my career has gone — you just never know if you’re gonna have a spot in the lineup every day. … It’s kind of a league where it’s like, what have you done for me now? You got to kind of prove it every night.”
No word in net
Montgomery did not show his hand in terms of whether or not Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman will get the start in net on Saturday. “We have decided, but I’m not sharing it with you guys.”
Leafs star forward William Nylander did not practice on Friday. Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe declined to provide any major update on Nylander other than to say he and Bobby McCann are “possibilities” for Game 1.
The Bruins recalled rookies Johnny Beecher and Mason Lohrei from Providence on Friday morning. Beecher skated on a fourth line with Jesper Boqvist and Pat Maroon during practice.
Matt Grzelcyk was in pain after taking a shot off his shin, but remained on the ice for all of Friday’s practice. “If he was a Black Bear, he would have got up right away, but he’s a Terrier so he sat on the ice for a little while,” Montgomery, a proud Maine alum, said.
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