Forward Nick Foligno is well aware of what he's been able to provide the Boston Bruins this season.
The 35-year-old veteran, similar to many fellow teammates, has grown into playing a key role in Boston's third and fourth lines. And that ability to supply Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery with reliability and versatility has benefited both Foligno and the team as a whole.
Before the Bruins prepared to face off against the Seattle Kraken, Foligno expanded on how much embracing his role has translated to the ice.
"I think that's always kind of been my M.O. in a lot of ways," Foligno told reporters Thursday, per team-provided video. "So I think I've really worked hard at developing that and being a guy that can play all over. I think that makes you valuable and allows your team to kind of have the options to move players around. And it's something I've embraced."
Foligno, who has scored 25 points with nine goals in 56 games this season, already has outperformed his debut campaign with the Bruins last season in eight fewer games played.
He's also taken notice of that identical role fulfillment from several other teammates, which Foligno attributes to Boston's NHL-best 43-8-5 entering Thursday night's contest.
"I've really enjoyed that and I've really enjoyed watching other guys embrace that role too, like a (Trent Frederic) and a (Pavel Zacha) and many more guys," Foligno said. "... It's a credit to every guy for stepping up whenever we need to."
The Bruins kicked off their four-game road trip versus the Kraken winners of their last four contests. However Boston fell 3-0 in their previous meeting with Seattle on home ice back on Jan. 12. And Foligno, who acknowledged how their last matchup ended, isn't short of confidence heading into round two.
"They're a team that's deep, they play the right way and they gave us a heck of a game," Foligno said. "So I think we're looking forward to bringing that back to them obviously and finding our game earlier. Getting to what we do to have success and I think we'll make for a great game."
Puck drop from Climate Pledge Arena is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.
