Lindholm Not On Bruins’ Road Trip, Week-To-Week

Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm did not join his teammates on their current four-game road trip that begins on Wednesday night against the Oilers in Edmonton.

Hampus Lindholm fell awkwardly after taking a knee-on-knee hit mid-way through the third period of the Bruins’ 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars on Monday.

“I don’t have anything concrete yet,” Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the game. “We’ll know more [Tuesday].”

There was no update from Montgomery or the team on Tuesday, as they had a travel day with no media availability. However, they did announce that they had re-assigned forward Oskar Steen to the Providence Bruins, placed rookie center Matthew Poitras on long-term injured reserve, and recalled defenseman Mason Lohrei. The latter move obviously raised a red flag when it came to Lindholm’s status for the road trip that also sees the Bruins play the Calgary Flames (Thursday), Vancouver Canucks (Saturday) and the Seattle Kraken on Monday.

Per Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, following the Bruins’ game-day skate at Rogers Place on Wednesday, Montgomery informed the assembled media that Lindholm is not on the trip and his status is week-to-week as he recovers from – while Montgomery would not confirm it – is believed to be a knee injury.

update: Lindholm will not be on 4-game trip. Will be assessed week to week.

— Kevin Paul Dupont (@GlobeKPD) February 21, 2024

Montgomery ruled out possibility of surgery re: Lindholm.

— Kevin Paul Dupont (@GlobeKPD) February 21, 2024

That’s good news on Lindholm not needing surgery, but for a Boston Bruins team that has allowed four goals or more in its last seven games, the question now is how they will tighten up and tread water with their second-pairing left-side defenseman out for at least the next four games?

There’s no doubt that with just one goal and 18 assists in 56 games this season, Lindholm has regressed offensively after he scored ten goals, had 43 assists, and was a +49 in 80 games last season. That being said, he has still been strong defensively and does a lot of the little things the common eye won’t notice, but his teammates and Montgomery appreciate. That understandably can’t be said for a 23-year-old rookie like Lohrei, who has three goals and three assists but is a minus 4 in his first 27 NHL games.

So does that mean Lindholm’s injury will force Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney’s hand and see him make a trade weeks ahead of the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline? Could the Noah Hanifin to the Bruins rumors finally become a reality?

Stay tuned.