Saturday night was a special one for Bruins 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell, who got to make his NHL debut in front of his parents and sister, who were in town from Sweden for the holidays. On his very first shift, he helped set up Boston’s opening goal in a 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The high was short-lived, though, as the Bruins announced on Sunday afternoon that they had sent Lysell back to AHL Providence. On the surface, the move seems a bit harsh, maybe even unfair. Lysell’s debut wasn’t perfect by any means – he had zero shot attempts and committed a tough turnover on a breakout – but he appeared to mostly hold his own while injecting some needed speed into the third line.
Interim head coach Joe Sacco hopes Lysell does not see the move as any kind of sign that the team was discouraged by his play.
“The message was basically that he didn't hurt his chances, obviously, for another opportunity at some point,” Sacco said of Lysell. “Played a good game, did some good things. It was an opportunity for him to get up, his first NHL game, based on his play. It was based on merit. He's done a good job in Providence. But I think the message is, continue to build on your game. You did not hurt your chances for another opportunity up here at some point.”
As for why Lysell isn’t getting a second NHL game at the moment, Sacco cited the Bruins’ schedule, with a New Year’s Eve matchup against a bigger, heavier Washington Capitals team up next.
“We're going on a road trip. We're playing against Washington. They have a little different lineup, so we're going to go with a different lineup against them,” Sacco said.
Sacco said he hadn’t finalized that lineup for Tuesday just yet, but at Monday’s practice, he had Cole Koepke moving up to the third line with Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau, and Johnny Beecher re-entering the lineup on the fourth line with Mark Kastelic and Marc McLaughlin. Oliver Wahlstrom skated as the extra forward.
That would indeed be a bigger, more defensively sound lineup, while also keeping an element of speed on the third line with Koepke.
Frederic not thinking about contract, trade rumors
Lysell’s call-up, in addition to being a reward for him, was also part of an ongoing effort to figure out the third line. Sacco has liked the way Charlie Coyle has played on the wing on the second line with Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm, which has helped solidify the top six. It has left him with a bit of a puzzle to solve on the third line, though.
Trent Frederic has had to shift from wing to center. His wings initially were Justin Brazeau and Oliver Wahlstrom, but that combination didn’t click. Replacing Wahlstrom with Lysell produced a little better results, but Sacco now wants to change things up again to get a different look against Washington.
Frederic picking up his play would go a long way toward getting the line on track, regardless of who the wings are. He has now gone nine games without a point, but beyond the offense, he also hasn’t been bringing the kind of physicality and energy the Bruins expect and need from him.
“Freddy's been fine. There's a lack of production, obviously. He hasn’t scored in a while,” Sacco said Monday. “Freddy's biggest thing is he's gotta continue to start moving his feet, continue to move his feet when he's playing, and he has to be physical. I think that's a big component of his [game]. When he's playing hard in the defensive zone, if he's battling down below the goal line, has his assignments defensively, finishing his checks when they’re there, being hard on pucks, those types of things, that's when I think his game elevates.”
It’s been a tough season for Frederic, who has just five goals and 11 points in 38 games to go along with a team-worst minus-13 rating. He is well off his 18-goal, 40-point pace from a year ago. It’s an especially bad time for it because he is in a contract year, set to his unrestricted free agency after the season if he doesn’t sign before then.
It would be understandable if one is compounding the other, but Frederic said Monday that he isn’t wasting any energy thinking about his contract situation.
“Honestly, I haven't thought about it in a long time,” Frederic said. “I'm not in any position right now to be worried about a contract, so I'm just out there playing hard and just trying to do my best.”
Frederic has also been a frequent subject of trade rumors, according to reporting from the likes of Elliotte Friedman and Kevin Weekes, precisely because he is a pending free agent who could maybe benefit from a change of scenery.
Frederic is not thinking about that, either.
“I don't have Twitter, so I don't see it all,” Frederic said. “I saw something on Instagram a month or two ago, scrolling through and you see yourself. But other than that, I don't know. I don't really focus on it too much. Like I said, I just take it day-by-day, just do my best, and I'm sure whatever happens will happen.”
McLaughlin earns a longer stay
While not at the same level as an NHL debut, Saturday was also a notable night for Marc McLaughlin. It was his 10th game with Boston this season, meaning he would now need to clear waivers again if the Bruins wanted to send him back to Providence.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in the NHL, but that milestone should bode well for McLaughlin’s chances of sticking around for a while. In theory, if the Bruins had any plans to send him back down any time soon, they would have done it before he got to 10 games.
Sacco explained why McLaughlin has earned a longer stay in his eyes.
“Pretty responsible. Reliable. I feel like I know what I'm going to get from Marc most nights,” Sacco said. “And that's what you want from a guy who's in his position. He's a 12th-slash-13th forward right now. He's in and out of the lineup. That's part of his role. He understands that. But when he does go in, he's been reliable. And that's a line that I feel I can use, when he's on that line, I can trust him defensively for the most part. Maybe some defensive-zone faceoff draws.
“So, he's been a trustworthy player. He's got to continue to work on his D-zone faceoff draws. He's been struggling a little bit on the right side there, an area that he can get better on. And then when he's on the wing, wall play for every young player is an adjustment coming into the National Hockey League, and that's something that he's going to continue to work on.”