It's either penthouse or outhouse for Edmonton Oilers' Trent Frederic

To borrow a line, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times for Trent Frederic.

And sometimes the shift happens from game to game.

The Edmonton Oilers forward has found himself going from the penthouse to the outhouse and back again in the span of one week, getting highly heralded for his efforts in a 6-2 win over the Utah Mammoth one Saturday, to finding himself a healthy scratch in a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs the next.

And just like that, he’s back in the lineup in their next game against the Detroit Red Wings.

It’s all part in parcel of an Oilers bottom six (and you might even argue bottom nine) that is sorely in need of finding an identity, while the top line has carried the load through a strong start to the season.

And Frederic has been the microcosm to that macrocosm.

While the 28-year-old forward has had a noticeable pep in his step compared to the downtrodden version of him that suffered through last season with just seven points in seven months (after having just signed a monster eight-year, $30.8-million extension, no less).

And he’s also shown an ability to spark the squad to victory with a pair of fights already, the first, against Ryan Lindgren, as retribution for an Evan Bouchard concussion, and the second, against Jack McBain, for a nasty crosscheck into the boards on Leon Draisaitl that went unpenalized.

But the good ol’ days of the goon are gone, and Frederic’s got to be able to do more than fight if he wants to secure himself a lineup spot in today’s NHL.

“We talked about it, it was like if Freddy was running for mayor,” said head coach Mike Babcock. “He couldn’t walk around town, for crying out loud, he did such a good job and we respect that.

“But there are just certain things that we expect from him. And we’ve gone through and laid it out as clear as can be, and we expect that. So, that’s what we’re looking for.”

The message has been received.

“Just play harder, be harder on the puck. That’s kind of more the message,” said Frederic, who has a goal in 10 games this season, before getting scratched last game. “When I have the puck, being hard on it, winning my battles and playing actually physical and getting some heavy hits.

“Since we’ve been doing this all, it’s been pretty black and white, which is nice. There’s not much grey area in how we play, and that makes it a lot easier. I’m just like everyone. Everyone wants to play, everyone wants to play more, everyone wants to score more. It’s just human nature.”

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