Boston Bruins

Bruins Notebook: Hampus Lindholm Update; Chara Earns High Honor

Published

1 week ago

January 5, 2025

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Hampus Lindholm has been out of action with a lower-body injury since mid-November. Since then, whenever Boston Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco has been asked about the defenseman’s status, he’s said that Lindholm is still “weeks” away from returning.

But when asked again this week, Sacco provided a slightly different answer.

“He’s not skating yet, but he is getting closer to being on the ice,” Sacco said to reporters in New York on Thursday. “I don’t have an exact time of when he’s going to be hitting the ice. When I do, I’ll let you know, but he’s getting closer to returning to the ice.”

Before getting hurt, Lindholm was the team’s most consistent player on the back end.

Through the first 17 games of the season, he scored seven points with four goals and played a role on both special teams units while averaging 20:51 of ice time per game. Depth defenseman Parker Wotherspoon and Jordan Oesterle have done about as well as they can in Lindholm’s place, but neither has been able to replicate his level of production.

Lindholm has now missed 24 games after blocking a shot off his left knee against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 12. The sooner he’s able to start skating again, the better for the Bruins.

Bruins and Panthers Could Take Their Rivalry Outside:

The rivalry between the Bruins and the Florida Panthers has quickly become perhaps the most intense in the league.

Anytime the two teams get together, it’s must-see TV, which is why the Bruins are being considered as a possible opponent for an upcoming outdoor game.

According to George Richards of Florida Hockey Now, the Bruins are one of a few teams that could possibly face the Panthers next season at LoanDepot Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins. Other possibilities include the New York Rangers or the Tampa Bay Lightning.

If the Bruins are selected, it will be their seventh outdoor game, which would tie them for the second most in the league with both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. Only the Chicago Blackhawks have more after playing in the Winter Classic this year.

The Bruins most recently played outside in the 2023 Winter Classic against the Penguins at Fenway Park.

Panthers Sam Bennett Disciplined For Cheap Shot:

Speaking of the Panthers, who could forget when Sam Bennett concussed Brad Marchand by delivering a sucker punch to the side of the Bruins captain’s head during last year’s playoffs?

Well, Bennett was up to his usual tricks on Friday night, delivering a hit to Penguins forward Drew O’Connor similar to the one on Marchand.

Sam Bennett with a costly penalty that leads to Pens tying goal 😬

Pittsburgh commentators compare the play to Bennett's punch on Marchand in the playoffs 😳 pic.twitter.com/AZsP0yeu4H

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 4, 2025

At least this time, though, Bennett faced some consequences and was fined $5,000 by the NHL Department of Player Safety.

Zdeno Chara Named to IIHF Hall of Fame:

Zdeno Chara is going to go down as one of the greatest Bruins players of all time. His No. 33 will surely be raised to the TD Garden rafters at some point, and he will one day be immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame for all he accomplished in his professional career.

But at the moment, it’s Big Z’s accomplishments on the international stage that are being recognized, as he was named part of the IIHF’s Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

A native of Trencin, Slovakia, Chara played in three Winter Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014), seven World Championships, winning silver in 2000 and 2012. He also won silver at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey with Team Europe in 2016.

Other members of the inductee class include Henrik Lundqvist and Frans Nielsen.