Bruins’ Trent Frederic was eager to fight to defend Brad Marchand

BOSTON — Trent Frederic didn’t need to be asked.

Not long after Givani Smith came out of the penalty box for a hit from behind on Brad Marchand, Frederic sought out the Sharks forward late in the second period of the Bruins’ 3-0 win over San Jose on Thursday at TD Garden. Smith’s hit earned the Sharks forward a boarding penalty and turned the game’s temperature up several degrees. Derek Forbort jumped him immediately and Frederic was waiting after his initial two minutes were over.

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“Obviously no one liked the hit,” Frederic said. “You don’t want people hitting Marchy. He’s our captain. Everyone loves him in here. He’s obviously a great player. You don’t want him getting hit like that.”

With Milan Lucic gone for the foreseeable future and likely the rest of the season, Frederic is the Bruins’ biggest (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) and arguably best fighter. Against Smith, who is 6-foot-2, 214 pounds, Frederic was the natural choice.

“A lot of guys have stood up,” he said. “(Derek Forbort) did it in Florida. That time, I called my own number.”

Jim Montgomery wasn’t surprised.

“Freddy is a well-respected teammate because he does everything he can to defend his teammates and play the game the right way,” Montgomery said. “His physicality is much needed in our group.”

A southpaw, Smith caught Frederic off guard at first landing a few early lefts that caused the Bruin forward to lose his balance, but he got up quickly and responded with a few straight rights that sent Smith down before the officials stepped in.

“I have a lot of respect for Freddy,” Marchand said. “He did a great job stepping in there. That’s one of the things he’s really good at, answering the bell. He did a great job there. Had a great fight. We really fed off that.”