How Anton Frondell made a statement against the Bruins

It was only a matter of time before Anton Frondell took over a game in a big way.

Even though the Chicago Blackhawks suffered a disappointing 5-4 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 31, players stepped up.

But Frondell might have had one of the most impressive games of his young career.

What led to Frondell's huge night in Boston

Going into the Bruins game, Frondell was going on six games without a point. Even though he has been one of the Blackhawks' best players this season, going through little droughts like that isn't unexpected. The 19-year-old is in his first full NHL season, and bumps will happen.

But despite the fact that he is still learning and growing, he has shown a lot of impressive traits in 15 games.

One of them was the big game he had against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 13, where he won 61 percent of his faceoffs, and was matched up against Sidney Crosby.

Since last season, the Blackhawks have loved his potential at center, and that has been his role, mainly playing second-line center. So, the fact that he had such a good night against Crosby was encouraging.

I spoke with Anton Frondell at practice on Oct. 22, and I asked him what was working for him: "For myself, I just feel like... keep building on those games I got last season, and I just remember how fun it was. I always dreamed of playing in the NHL, and there I was living my dream. So, just trying to have the same energy, the same enjoyment, because every day is so fun. It's a dream to play here. So, [I'm] having fun and trying to get better."

He is currently tied for fifth amongst NHL rookies in points with 8 points in 14 games. His eight points is third on the Blackhawks.

Head coach Jeff Blashill said about loving Frondell's efforts as a coach on Oct. 7, "I do, and honestly, like, there's a lot of really good players that get drafted high, but to your point, not all of them are kind of two-way this early in their time as he is, and part of that's effort, part of it's smarts, part of it's understanding. Having played a lot of pro hockey, I think ultimately the best players and the way you win is to play both sides of the puck. And I think he's really bought into what's going to make him special in this league, and that's going to be a really good two-way center."

He had a couple games, including last game against Detroit where his ice time was decreased, as he played 11:44, and his average is 16:43 minutes. Blashill explained, "Yeah, he's in that group, and so maybe I didn't give him a chance enough to get out of that, but he was in that group. Like for him, I give him a little bit of an out. It's his first year in the NHL. I don't know how many games this is for us? 13 games. He's played 10 good ones and some really good. So, that 10-to-3 ratio at 19 years old is a pretty good ratio. For other guys that have been here longer, we just need to be better."

The Red Wings game was forgettable for everyone. But he responded in a monster way against the Bruins. He hasn't gotten much power-play time this season and has mainly been a bigger factor on the penalty kill. But he played on the first power-play unit against the Bruins and scored a power-play goal to put his team up 1-0 in the first period.