Coach Jim Montgomery confirmed following Friday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena that Tomas Nosek will miss his second straight game with injury, meaning Frederic will remain in the middle between Nick Foligno and A.J. Greer on Boston's fourth line.
"It's been a little bit since I've played center," Frederic said of shifting back to his natural position. "It was fun. Our system is if you're the first guy back you end up playing kind of like a center role and when I played with Charlie [Coyle] that could happen. He was fine with me going low and playing the center role.
"A lot was faceoffs. It's nice having Fliggy on my line so if I ever get booted or get too aggressive, he usually snaps it back."
Frederic, who started December with three goals in three games, broke a nine-game scoreless drought on Wednesday night in New Jersey. The tally gave him seven goals for the year, leaving him one shy of his career-high of eight set last season.
"A lot of guys have made a lot of great plays to me and just being confident," said Frederic, who has 14 points in 32 games, four shy of his career-high from last season. "When you get a couple going in, you try to follow that up and feel that confidence in your head. Just try to translate that on the ice."
Montgomery believes that Frederic having now seen time at all three forward positions this season has actually helped the growth of his offensive game, while pointing specifically to the 24-year-old's time on the right side.
"I think he's learning that he can now be put in any situation and just go play and I hope that he's learned that the coaching staff trusts him in all of those situations. To put him at center is because we trust him," said Montgomery.
"I think the right side…it's opened up the creative side of his brain to be able to think a little bit more offensively and especially in wall play, coming D-zone and neutral zone, he's made a lot of smart plays to the middle of the ice that have led to good transitions for us.
"Something that is usually a little easier on your off side and I think that's why you see a lot of Russians play on their off side."
