Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic first used his hands to get off some punches at an old nemesis.
But then he used those same hands for an even greater purpose in Thursday’s 5-2 road win over the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.
Frederic broke a third-period deadlock by scoring twice in a span 34 seconds, helping the Bruins improve to a dazzling 30-4-4 on the season. It’s been a breakout campaign for the 24-year-old, who is now up to a career-high nine goals after his stellar performance against the Kings.
“I think just his maturity, his trust in his game and getting more opportunities has allowed his confidence to grow,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told NESN’s Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley on the network’s postgame coverage. “He’s just a real good hockey player for us now. I mean, he’s got nine goals and they’re all five-on-five goals. It’s not easy to do in this league in the first half of the year.”
Before Frederic lit the lamp twice in the final frame, he created fireworks by dropping the gloves with Kings forward Brendan Lemieux in the second period.
Frederic and Lemieux both traded fists and there’s certainly no love lost between the two as its the third fight between them since Frederic entered the NHL in the 2018-19 season.
“When he came up to me, I can’t ever say no to him,” Frederic said as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Not a big fan of him. So, every chance I get, I try to do it.”
