Troiani Rink Report

Fan favorite Trent Frederic returns to TD Garden for the first time since the Boston Bruins shipped the 2016 first-round draft pick out of town last season ahead of the trade deadline in March.

Selected 29th overall by the B’s, Frederic spent the first eight seasons of his pro career with Boston before the trade. He amassed 55 goals and 54 assists for 109 points across 337 games while donning the Spoked-B.

Frederic became a fan favorite because he wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves and go toe-to-toe with opposing players. He recorded 18 fighting majors across four seasons with the Bruins, 14 of which came during the last two seasons he wore black and gold.

Bruins fans weren’t able to give Frederic a proper send-off because the bruising forward was out of the lineup with an injury at the time of the trade. The Garden faithful will undoubtedly make up for it with thunderous cheers before puck drop.

Boston lost the season series to Edmonton in the 2024-25 campaign and will look to extend their home winning streak by defeating the two-time defending Western Conference champions.

Jeremy Swayman will make his third straight start for Boston, while Tristan Jarry is expected to get the nod for Edmonton.

Puck drop from TD Garden is slated for 7 p.m. on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for both clubs:

BOSTON BRUINS (20-14-0)
Morgan Geekie — Elias Lindholm — David Pastrnak
Marat Khusnutdinov — Pavel Zacha — Casey Mittelstadt
Alex Steeves — Fraser Minten — Michael Eyssimont
Tanner Jeannot — Sean Kuraly — Mark Kastelic

Nikita Zadorov — Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm — Andrew Peeke
Mason Lohrei — Victor Soderstrom

Jeremy Swayman

EDMONTON OILERS (16-12-6)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin — Leon Draisaitl — Matt Savoie
Andrew Mangiapane — Adam Henrique — Mattias Janmark
Max Jones — Trent Frederic — Quinn Hutson

Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Spencer Stastney
Riley Stillman — Ty Emberson

Tristan Jarry

ODDS AND ENDS
Special Teams
Power Play: Boston 25.5%, Edmonton 32.6%
Power-Play Goals: Boston 25, Edmonton 29
Penalty Kill: Boston 80.6%, Edmonton 79.4%
Shorthanded Goals: Boston 1, Edmonton 3
Penalty Minutes: Boston 414, Edmonton 269

Offense and Defense
Goals Scored: Boston 111, Edmonton 116
Goals Allowed: Boston 106, Edmonton 116

Point Streaks:
Boston: Mikey Eyssimont (2 Games / 1-1-2)
Edmonton: Evan Bouchard (3 Games / 1-3-4)
Zach Hyman (4 Games / 6-1-7)
Connor McDavid (7 Games / 9-11-20)