After a four-game skid entering the NHL’s Christmas Break, the Boston Bruins have come out of the break with a four-game winning streak, returning to the top of the league standings with a 23-7-6 record and would win the President’s Trophy if the season ended today.
There are plenty of things that can be attributed to this success. Three players in particular are stepping up their games and starting to get hot at the right time for the Bruins.
Kevin Shattenkirk
With just four points in his first 17 games after being signed to a one-year contract in the offseason, Shattenkirk started to turn up the offense against the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring his first goal of the season in that wild game.
Shattenkirk has five goals and two assists in his last 13 games, most recently scoring two goals against the New Jersey Devils on December 30 and one goal against Columbus on Tuesday night. With this hot streak, he’s also surpassed 100 career goals, which is a cool milestone for Shattenkirk.
Trent Frederic
After setting career highs in goals (17), assists (14), and points (31) last season, Frederic has carried that success over to this year and is enjoying another big campaign under Jim Montgomery. He’s up to 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points while also boasting a +9 rating while averaging 13:18 of ice time, which would also end up being a career-high.
In his last two games, Frederic has four points, three of which came in a two-goal, one assist game against the Detroit Red Wings on New Year’s Eve in one of his best games on the stat sheet and as an agitator.
In his last five games, Frederic has three goals and three assists after also scoring against Columbus on Tuesday and getting one assist against the Buffalo Sabres and one against the Minnesota Wild before the break. The success of Frederic during this run has been key for the Bruins.
Another one of Don Sweeney’s cheap July 1 signings with the Bruins strapped against the salary cap, van Riemsdyk has been a reliable player for the Bruins since opening night. Scoring his first two goals in the second game of the season, van Riemsdyk has seven goals and 18 assists through 34 games, already just four points shy of his point total from last season.
Against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists after being a healthy scratch against the Red Wings on New Year’s Eve. In his last five games, he has a goal and three assists and has largely flown under the radar with the Bruins. But that’s fine, because he’s been as advertised, a middle six winger who scores in front of the net and plays a solid game every night.
Making $1 million this season, van Riemsdyk’s contract ranks as the second-best value in the NHL in terms of cost per point at $40,000, according to Cap Friendly. Only Stefan Noesen of Carolina is ahead of van Riemsdyk. Pretty good if you ask me.
An honorable mention goes to Danton Heinen. Someone who signed a PTO and stuck around for a while before signing a contract, Heinen has five goals and seven assists in 28 games after scoring against Columbus. His 12 points, which have all come at even strength, are more even strength points than Tyler Bertuzzi has with Toronto this season entering play on Wednesday.
Leave a Reply