TORONTO — Late in Game 3’s second period, Trent Frederic sent a shot on goal. It was the kind Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery does not like.
By the NHL’s measurement, it was a 40-foot attempt. The shot included the following circumstances: outside the left faceoff dot, just below the top of the circle, no traffic bothering Ilya Samsonov. Montgomery, who appreciates advanced statistics, knows such a look is the definition of a low-danger shot.
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According to Clear Sight Analytics, 2,561 all-situations shots have been taken league-wide from that sector, with no optical obstructions for goalies, over the past two regular seasons. Only 21 have gone in. Put another way, such a shot has a 0.82 percent chance of beating an NHL goalie. Under the worst conditions, it is a turnover if the goalie gloves the puck and hands it off to a teammate.
Ideally, Frederic would have pulled up and waited for reinforcements. Good thing for the Bruins he did not. The shot that slipped in above the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie’s right pad and under his blocker at 17:37 changed Game 3.
Trent ties it up. pic.twitter.com/1Z2U72iDkj
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 25, 2024
Maybe even the series.
One-on-one distraction
Not all eyes in Scotiabank Arena were aimed at Frederic when he scooted down the left wing. The attention was trained in the neutral zone. Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi were going at it. Despite the friendship they formed upon the ex-Detroit Red Wing’s arrival in Boston last year, they’d been doing so all series.
“Those two guys are very competitive,” Montgomery said. “They’re playoff performers because of their natural competitive instincts. … That’s probably why they got along so well. There’s a bond there of doing anything you have to do to win.”
Frederic had just jumped over the boards to replace Charlie Coyle when Marchand and Bertuzzi began to tangle. David Kampf and Joel Edmundson converged on Frederic to steer him toward low-percentage waters.
Frederic winged the puck on net. He saw it cross the line. Some of his teammates did not. Like everyone else, they were distracted by the Marchand-Bertuzzi dance.
“It was really weird,” Frederic said. “I was trying to tell the guys that we scored. I don’t think anyone really knew. Kind of a weird play.”
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The Leafs were in control before Frederic’s goal. Matthew Knies had deflected Mitch Marner’s pass past Jeremy Swayman at 13:10.
The Bruins were doing nothing at the other end. They recorded only one five-on-five shot in the first period. Samsonov stopped the nine other five-on-five shots in the second. The Leafs were squeezing the air out of the Bruins’ five-on-five offense, just like they had for most of games 1 and 2.
“None of our players here through games 1 and 2 have cheated the game and gone outside what we need them to do,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said before Game 3. “Because of that, we’ve played the best defensive hockey we’ve played all season long.”
The Leafs wobbled after Frederic tied the score. The Bruins scored three of the next four goals for a 4-2 win.
Samsonov had given them life.
Back to the middle
Frederic was the No. 3 right wing in the first two games. In Game 3, Montgomery moved Morgan Geekie from No. 3 center to No. 2 right wing. Frederic moved to third-line center between James van Riemsdyk and Danton Heinen. He responded with his best performance of the playoffs.
He made his best play in the third period on Marchand’s winner. When Heinen sent in a cross-corner dump, Frederic’s frenzied forecheck on Timothy Liljegren prevented the Toronto defenseman from executing a clean retrieval. As the first forechecker, Frederic harassed Liljegren enough on the end boards to give Heinen time to arrive as F2 on Auston Matthews. Heinen won the puck and hit Marchand in front. Just 28 seconds after Bertuzzi had tied the score, Marchand gave the Bruins the lead again. The Bruins kept it.
A 6️⃣3️⃣ snipe. pic.twitter.com/bAjmoCgpHE
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 25, 2024
“Moving his feet,” Montgomery said before Game 3 when asked what makes Frederic effective. “Playing with pace. Heavy down low.”
The Bruins have a playoff motto: Above. Behind. Physical. They placed the three words in their TD Garden dressing room. They have done the same in the visiting room at Scotiabank Arena. When Frederic executes the three, he is a handful because of his size and speed.
In Game 3, Frederic also got lucky. The Bruins will take it. They have a 2-1 series lead and a scorching Swayman optimized for Game 4. Frederic helped put them in this position.
(Photo: John E. Sokolowski / USA Today)
