Boston Bruins: Claude Julien Discusses Teams Hopes For Frank Vatrano After Recently Calling Him Up Once Again
Frank Vatrano is officially back with the Boston Bruins and it isn’t hard to see why.
The 22 year old Massachusetts-native has been on an absolute tear in the AHL all season. Whether it was the beginning of the year prior to his call-up to the Boston Bruins, or the middle of the season after he was sent back down to Providence, Frank Vatrano has scored goals consistently all year long. With 33 goals in 33 games in the AHL, Frank Vatrano has the potential to score big goals for a Boston Bruins team that simply hasn’t been getting production from it’s secondary right-wingers.
Brett Connolly and Jimmy Hayes have both been in-and-out of the lineup recently with both wingers struggling to score goals. Brett Connolly has only scored nine goals total this year in 69 games with only three in his last 25. Connolly also isn’t helping much in the assist column with only 16 helpers on the year and seven in his last 25.
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Jimmy Hayes has scored 13 goals and added 16 assists this season in 70 games, and he too has gone through major slumps this season. In his last 25 games, Jimmy Hayes has only scored two goals and added five assists. It’s clear that both Hayes and Connolly are both having troubling years, and first-year player Frank Vatrano could step in right away to help this issue.
“We know he’s score a lot of goals (in the AHL) and has six here. Our goal is to hopefully get him (to score) like that here”. Head coach Claude Julien said. When discussing where Frank Vatrano might lineup when he plays, Julien added this, “Our top two lines have been producing on a regular basis, but we need secondary scoring.”
With Lee Stempniak and David Pastrnak playing consistently well on the Bruins’ top two lines, it seems like Frank Vatrano could find himself lined up next to Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey on the Bruins’ third line when he finally gets a nod to play in a game. Playing with the ever-dynamic Ryan Spooner and big-hitting Matt Beleskey could help Frank Vatrano find open looks to shoot the puck, something he’s clearly fond of doing as he’s averaging over five-shots taken per game in Providence.
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The Bruins will have to rebound quickly from their abysmal California road trip that resulted in three consecutive losses. When discussing the Bruins having not lost more than three games in a row this season, Julien had this to say, “Consistency. We haven’t had big dips. Hopefully we can end (this streak) tomorrow.” The Bruins will have a chance to break that streak against the New York Rangers on Wednesday when they travel to Madison Square Garden.