BOSTON — Matt Fraser’s shot is his best asset, and he put it to good use Saturday night with two goals in a 4-2 Boston Bruins victory over the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden.
“Just to be in the lineup is huge for my confidence, but the one thing I’ve drawn on for myself, like I was never a drafted player. I had to climb walls to get where I am,” Fraser said. “It’s not easy being a traded guy and kind of being a guy that flies under the radar in the trade. For myself, the end goal has never changed for me. It’s not to just be here, but to be an impact player.”
Fraser was inserted into the lineup after center David Krejci was a late scratch with an undisclosed injury. The 24-year-old winger hadn’t played since Oct. 18.
Saturday’s performance was a good indication that Fraser deserves to remain in the lineup at least for the short term, even when Krejci returns.
His first goal was scored off a rebound after Senators goaltender Robin Lehner stopped Chris Kelly’s initial shot. Fraser pounced on the loose puck and shot it over Lehner’s two pads.
Fraser’s second goal, scored just 1:28 later, was a beauty. Carl Soderberg sent a perfectly placed pass into the attacking zone, and once Fraser gathered it, he fired a laser beam that beat Lehner high glove side. This is the type of shot power and accuracy that helped Fraser make the team out of training camp.
Fraser has yet to show any consistency at the NHL level as he’s never tallied a point in back-to-back regular-season games during his career. With that said, Fraser still is a better option in the Bruins lineup than veteran winger Simon Gagne, who’s scored just one goal with zero assists in nine games. Gagne also is scoreless in seven consecutive games and didn’t register a shot on goal versus Ottawa.
The Bruins need to see what they have in Fraser. He’s shown at times to be a real effective player capable of generating offense and playing the physical, two-way game that B’s head coach Claude Julien asks of his players. He crashes the net, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes in vulnerable areas and is willing to go to the dirty areas of the ice to win puck possession.
Fraser only has 32 games of regular-season experience and four games of playoff experience. That’s too small of a sample size to evaluate what kind of player he can be for the Bruins this season and long-term.
If Krejci is going to be out for any amount of time, the Bruins will need guys who can finish scoring chances, and that’s the type of skill set Fraser brings to the ice. Fraser also has played shifts on the first, third and fourth lines during the preseason and regular season. This versatility gives Julien plenty of flexibility when he needs to shuffle his lines. Fraser showed Saturday that he can play both wings, too.
“His first goal was from the right, his second goal was from the left — he just has a good shot,” Julien said. “And I know he’s had some great opportunities from the right side, but he’s been extremely versatile at both. So we have an opportunity here to have a winger who can play both sides — just like Loui as a matter of fact.”
When Krejci returns, Kelly probably will go back to the third line spot Fraser was in Saturday night, but it would be unwise to remove Fraser’s deadly shot from the lineup. Fraser scored 90 goals in three full AHL seasons, and there’s a good chance he will be able to score goals consistently in Boston if he plays alongside skilled playmakers such as Soderberg and Loui Eriksson.
All he needs is the opportunity.
Photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
