TEMPE, Ariz. — Some thoughts and shots while waiting for the Bruins to play Friday night for the first time at Mullett Arena, the 5,000-seat music box disguised as an NHL rink for Gary Bettman’s nomadic Coyotes. Just how many years (40?) are these guys going to wander in the desert?
Watching Trent Frederic blossom into a legit NHL forward, as a right winger, is turning into yet another of the Bruins fun subplots in 2022-23.
“Freddy,” forever a center, was drafted prior to his freshman year at Wisconsin as a potential top-six pivot. He may one day get his chance in the middle with the Bruins, but it won’t be this season, and that’s fine. By coach Jim Montgomery’s eye, he has solidified a job on his off wing.
For a centerman, any wing is the off wing, of course, but it’s clear the 24-year-old son of a St. Louis roofer isn’t caught up in job description or positioning.
“Not really, I don’t,” a smiling Frederic said late Wednesday night when asked if he misses playing in the middle. “Honestly, wherever is fine with me. It’s hard to be a center in this league, and especially on this team, and I like to be down low in the D-zone sometimes, helping out. So, yeah, all good.”
Frederic, playing lately with Taylor Hall (five goals in his last four games) on the left and Charlie Coyle (0-3–3 in his last three games) in the middle, popped for a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s 4-0 whitewash of the Avalanche that kicked off a three-game trip.
Frederic is a vastly different, more confident player under Montgomery than he was under Bruce Cassidy, though it took some time. Remember, Frederic was a lineup scratch opening night in October, following a tepid training camp and preseason.
“Trent’s offensive pop is just blossoming,” noted Montgomery following the win in Denver. “I think slowly but surely, from the first game of the season, where he didn’t play, he’s gotten better and better. And I think his confidence has grown. I think what we’re seeing now is him getting close to his ceiling [of potential], and being on that off side has been a real benefit to him.”
On the right, said Montgomery, the 6-foot-3-inch Frederic “can make better plays to the middle” and can carry the puck back through the neutral zone and into the offensive end.
“And another thing is,” added a laughing Montgomery, “I didn’t know he had a one-timer!”
That big shot, off a feed from Hall, provided the 3-0 lead over the Avalanche at 6:24 of the third. Hall’s dish came from the left wing, with the left-shooting Frederic drifting from the right side into the middle. Boom. As his confidence has grown, Frederic is more shot-ready, eager and willing to put down the hammer.
Evidence: After going three consecutive games without a shot on net, Frederic has landed seven over the last three games, with three of those going in the net.
“Monty’s put a lot of confidence in me, just kind of let me play,” said Frederic. “That relationship’s been really nice. And I’ve always had a lot of fun playing with [Coyle], he makes it really easy. And Hallsy is just an unbelievable player, so it’s been really nice.”
Hall is hot
Hall is sizzling with those five goals, three at even strength and a pair on the power play, over the last four games. Like Frederic, he likes the new trio, one in which he can lug the puck to his liking, which in turns allows Coyle more freedom and different situational looks across the blue line.
Hall always has been a top-six winger. Slipping into the No. 3 left wing spot should give him more minutes away from the opposition’s best checkers, although he doesn’t agree with that “more elbow room” theory.
“That’s kind of hard to say,” he said following his latest pair of goals in Denver. “I want to be out there as much as I can and I want to have the puck as much as I can. So, I think [when on a line with David Krejci and David Pastrnak] there is only one puck out there and at times it can be hard to get in the game with as many touches as you want.”
Out there with Cassidy and Frederic, noted Hall, he can carry the puck up ice more, get more zone and possession time.
“I think there is a good mix there and I am enjoying it,” said Hall.
Hall, now 11-9–20, is slightly ahead of the pace in which he delivered 61 points last season. He also is tracking for more than 30 goals, a plateau he reached only in his MVP season of 2017-18, when he popped for 39 with the Devils.
Cooling off
Amid the continued winning, the Bruins’ backline has lost some of its offensive sizzle. Witness: Charlie McAvoy, 2–11—13 in his 12 games, has posted a meager 0–3—3 over his last five, landing 12 shots on net.
Hampus Lindholm, who was smoking hot while McAvoy remained sidelined into November, has been a near-dormant 0–1—1 over the last eight games, though he has averaged just over two shots per game.
Even footing
All four of the goals vs. the Avalanche were at even strength, the eighth time this season the Bruins have scored four or more at even strength (7-1-0 in those games). Their high for even-strength goals this year, five, came in the 6-5 win Nov. 1 at Pittsburgh … The Bruins’ power play went 0 for 3 in Denver, ending a streak of 10 games in which the Black and Gold tallied at least once in man-up situations. They were a sizzling 15 for 43 (35.7 percent) in those 10 games. As of Thursday morning, the Bruins were tied for fourth in the league for power-play success (28.4 percent), deadlocked with the mighty Lightning … The Bruins’ penalty-killing unit, 10 for 10 over the last three games, stood atop the league (85.3 percent).
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.