Bruce Cassidy Explains Scratching Trent Frederic For Bruins-Hurricanes Game 3

Bruce Cassidy is making some tweaks to his lineup ahead of Bruins-Hurricanes Game 3, and Chris Wagner will get to see his first Stanley Cup playoff action this series.

Wagner, who played one game with Boston this season and spent the rest of 2021-22 in Providence, will slot in against Carolina for Trent Frederic. Cassidy was critical of Frederic taking an avoidable in the Bruins’ Game 2 loss and benched him during the second period.

“Freddy’s gotten himself in some penalty trouble,” Cassidy told reporters after Friday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena, per team-provided video. “I’m not sure if it’s all warranted, but that’s where we’re at right now.

“But it’s less about Freddy and it’s more about the two guys who’ve been in the league, which are his center and right winger. They’ve been around, so they need to drive the line no matter who’s on their left side. We need a little more from them, and hopefully tonight we get it.”

Cassidy has benched Frederic before in the regular season for taking a costly penalty, most recently against the st. Louis Blues. The forward responded well to the benching in his next game back, but it’s unclear if Frederic will play in Game 4 on Sunday.

The Bruins look to get back into the series and out of their 2-0 hole to the Hurricanes on Friday night. Puck drop from TD Garden for Game 3 is set for 7 p.m. ET.