Boston Bruins

Bruins Blue Line Mainstay Out Weeks With Injury

Published

4 weeks ago

November 13, 2024

Andrew Fantucchio

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Few players have been more reliable for the Boston Bruins this season than defenseman Hampus Lindholm.

But now the team will need to find someone else to fall back on, with Lindholm expected to miss weeks with a lower-body injury.

#Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm will be out “weeks” according to coach Jim Montgomery.

— Jim McBride (@globejimmcbride) November 13, 2024

Lindholm exited the Bruins 3-2 win on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues in the first period and did not return after blocking a shot while on the penalty kill.

Hampus Lindholm went to the locker room shortly after blocking this shot from Justin Faulk. Looks like Lindholm took the puck off the left knee. pic.twitter.com/Omhc8skKmq

— Bear With Me (@BearWithMe_Pod) November 13, 2024

With seven points and three goals, the two-way, do-it-all defender has been the team’s most consistent player on the blue line and perhaps on the entire roster.

Playing without Lindholm for any amount of time is a huge blow to the Bruins in itself, but even more so with defenseman Andrew Peeke already out week-to-week with an upper-body injury he sustained on Nov. 5 in Toronto.

To make up the minutes, the Bruins recalled defenseman Jordan Oesterle from AHL Providence on Wednesday.

Oesterle, 32, has posted eight points with three goals through nine games in Providence this year after signing with the Bruins as an under-the-radar addition this past offseason. Up with the big club, Oesterle will be tasked with playing a major role for the team in the weeks to come.

“He’s an excellent skater in every possible fashion,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said of Oesterle to reporters in Dallas on Wednesday. “His edges, his pivots, his lateral movement at the offensive blue line, his retrievals, and then it’s his brain. He’s a real smart hockey player that’s exceptional at breaking the puck out and transitioning pucks.”

The extended absence of Lindholm also places more of an onus on the defenseman the Bruins already had on their roster. Second-year defender Mason Lohrei will take Lindholm’s place as the quarterback on the second power-play unit.

“He’s done it before,” Montgomery said of Lohrei. “It’s a situation where I think he’s very comfortable. When he’s on the second unit, I think he’s done very well there for us.”

Losing Lindholm against St. Louis underscored what was a monumental comeback win for Boston. The Bruins have barely managed to tread water with him in the lineup and doing so will be that much more difficult without him.

The Bruins will wrap up their two-game road trip tomorrow night against the Dallas Stars with puck drop at American Airlines Center scheduled for 8 p.m. EST.