Courage key to tip-in goals
James van Riemsdyk remembers the days when his dad, Frans, would fire pucks toward him and his brothers in the driveway at their Middletown, N.J., home.
This wasn’t a punishment drill. It was a tip drill.
James, Trevor, and Brendan would take turns standing in front of the net and try to redirect Frans’s shots.
“He never gave me the chin music,” James said with a snicker. “Really it was more just knocking [the pucks] down and knocking them dead.”
Trent Frederic used to perform similar drills with his brother, Grant, in their basement in St. Louis.
“There was a speed limit on the shots, and you’d try to knock it down and then shoot it,” Frederic said. “I feel like everyone kind of plays those games and we actually do a lot of it in practice.”
The practice paid off for Frederic and the Bruins in Wednesday’s opening win against the Blackhawks. Parked in front of the Chicago net, the big winger karate-chopped a Brandon Carlo wrister that escaped goalie Arvid Soderblom.
It paid dividends for van Riemsdyk in Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Predators, as his second power-play goal of the contest came on a beautiful redirect of a Charlie McAvoy shot and stood up as the game-winner.
“That second tip, the second goal is incredible, but the plays that we go down low, he has the poise, and he makes really good decisions,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “And they have to be split-second decisions.”
The art of tipping pucks involves positioning and excellent hand-eye coordination, but there’s one quality that is most important.
“Courage would be the No. 1 factor,” Montgomery said.
Stationing yourself in front of the net, players know they’re going to be subjected to punishment. Whether it’s feeling a defenseman’s stick in the small of their back or a goalie’s twig hacking at their ankles, it’s not duty for the faint of heart.
“Being big and heavy helps, because you’re harder to move from those areas,” Montgomery noted.
Van Riemsdyk (6 feet 3 inches, 208 pounds) and Frederic (6-3, 214) have the requisite size for the role.
“Being a bigger guy obviously I can take away the eyes of the goalie fairly easily with my wingspan and stuff like that,” van Riemsdyk said. “And then depending on if the shot’s low or high, there’s different strategies you might try or if the shot’s a little bit slower versus harder, there might be some different things you might try to throw the goalie off.
“So, there’s definitely some tricks you pick up over the years and definitely obviously something I take a lot of pride in that part of my game.”
Van Riemsdyk also credited practicing against mammoth defenseman Chris Pronger (6-6, 220) during their days with Flyers as helping him hone his skills near the crease.
“Chris Pronger was really big with that for me to help me kind of get that into my routine,” van Riemsdyk said. “And then Joe Mullen was my assistant coach my first year. He was a big help with that, too.
“So, I’ve had a lot of stuff I’ve worked on over the years and you try to learn from the guys who come before you as far as routines and stuff that works, and it helps you figure out what works for you.”
Swayman’s turn
Jeremy Swayman got the start in net for Game 2 and made 34 saves for the win. While Montgomery won’t commit to a strict alternating pattern with Swayman and Linus Ullmark, it’s pretty clear both goalies will get lots of work.
“I can’t say we plan to go every other [game], but it’s the strength of our team and especially when the schedule gets really busy, we’re definitely going to be going every other,” Montgomery said. “They give us a great chance every night so it will keep them fresh.”
Swayman improved his career record against Nashville to 3-0 with two shutouts.
Song remains same
Other than Swayman, Montgomery kept his lineup from the season opener intact . . . Frederic played his 200th career game . . . Bruins coaches wore pins shaped as hearts with the No. 49 in the middle in tribute to former Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who passed away two weeks ago . . . Boston debuted its home centennial season black sweaters . . . The Bruins won’t be in action again until Thursday when they visit San Jose at the Shark Tank for a 10:30 p.m. start, so go ahead and order the late afternoon venti with a double shot . . . Song of the night: “Barbie Girl” by Aqua (one of David Pastrnak’s faves).