Lazar Ruled Out for Saturday's Game in San Jose

SEATTLE -The Bruins, who will begin the California swing of their six-game road trip on Saturday night in San Jose, will have at least one lineup change against the Sharks with Curtis Lazar ruled out after suffering an upper-body injury in Thursday's win over the Kraken. With Lazar considered day-to-day, either Anton Blidh or Jesper Froden will sub in on Boston's fourth line.
"We'll have to make that call," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said following Friday's practice at Climate Pledge Arena. "Froden's a right shot so if he goes in it keeps [Nick] Foligno on the left. If it's Blidh then Fliggy will have to go back over to the right."

Patrice Bergeron, who was the only other player to stay off the ice on Friday morning, was feeling under the weather and took a maintenance day. In general, Cassidy said that it will be important for the Bruins to pace themselves throughout this lengthy road trip, particularly given where they are in the schedule.
"You've got to build in your time off, allow the guys a little bit of time away from the rink, especially when it's 70 degrees [in California and Las Vegas]," said Cassidy. "I think when you're in the climate we're in [back in Boston], it does everybody some good, the body some good, the mind. You build those [in], just like when we have our Florida trip.
"You've still got to get your work done in the areas you need to. You like to hope when you're 50 games in, you're at least rounding those things into form. I think we're getting there. We'll always have stuff to work on. We have to balance that."Guys are out as a group, as a team. There's that part of it that we haven't had a lot of over the [last two] years, the freedom to go out as well. I think it's important to give them some space."
Cassidy added that Urho Vaakanainen, who has now missed the last two games, remains back in Boston and is unlikely to join the Bruins for the trip.
"Maybe early next week if he comes around. But right now, I've been told not to plan on it for now," said Cassidy. "Could he meet us in Vegas and get involved in the last two games? I wouldn't rule that out, but right now he's not here so he's certainly not in [against San Jose]."

Frederic Finding It

While it may not be showing up as much on the scoresheet as it did in January before he was injured, Trent Frederic's impact on the Boston lineup is still being felt since he returned on Feb. 10. The 24-year-old has one goal in seven games during that stretch but has found a comfort zone on the B's new-look third line with Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith.
"I'm feeling more confident with the puck and making plays," said Frederic, who has three goals and six points in 31 games this season. "Now the next step is putting it in the back of the net, obviously…it's been fun playing with Chuck and Smitty.
"I don't know what's clicked, but it's been better. I think it's just my confidence. My abilities haven't changed, it's just the confidence to be able to do it is really what it is."
Frederic credited Coyle and Smith for how they've made him feel at ease as one of the reasons he has found success alongside them.
"I think we maybe play similar, read off each other," said Frederic. "They're easy, easy guys to play with; they don't put too much pressure on you. They just kind of let me be myself. That's nice."
Cassidy said he has noticed that Frederic is "moving his feet better when he gets the puck" which has helped the St. Louis native gain more traction on a nightly basis.
"And then not looking for plays when he's standing still," said Cassidy. "His first instinct now is to get moving, protect it, and plays will open up…get moving so that you can shield people. I think he had a good rush, a couple of good ones every game now where he's been able to do that. The next part of it is getting to spots where he can get his shot off. Now it's a matter of finishing some of those plays."

Marchand Returns

After missing six games to serve out his suspension for high-sticking and roughing, Brad Marchand returned to the lineup for Thursday's win over the Kraken. And while he didn't find the scoresheet, the winger didn't appear to miss a beat, landing a game-high seven shots on goal in 21:44 of ice time.
"I thought Brad was good," Cassidy said after the game. "Had good jump, good second effort on the puck. Had some looks, had a chance to win the game, I think, in the third - it was late coming down the wing. I was happy with his game. We'll look at the details of it [on Friday] when we go through the video part of it. But on the surface, I thought he looked good."

Ullmark Hits a High

With his 25-save performance in the B's overtime triumph over Seattle, Linus Ullmark notched his 17th win of the season, matching his career high set in 2019-20 with the Buffalo Sabres. Ullmark is now 17-8-1 with a 2.76 goals against average and .909 save percentage in his first campaign with the Black & Gold.
"I didn't even know that," Ullmark said of hitting his career high in wins. "I'm not taking anything for granted. I'm very blessed, very happy to be here. There's a lot of games left and the energy that me and [Jeremy Swayman] has right now is great. We kind of feed off each other. He's been playing really well as of late and it keeps me motivated to try to push myself and compete against each other."