Bruins’ Hampus Lindholm exits game with lower-body injury
Hampus Lindholm exited Tuesday's game after taking a shot off of his knee.
Just a day after Jim Montgomery tabbed Hampus Lindholm as one of the few Bruins playing with “offensive confidence”, Boston lost their dynamic defenseman to injury during Tuesday’s road matchup against the Blues.
Lindholm exited Tuesday’s matchup in St. Louis shortly before the end of the first period — just a few minutes after blocking a shot from Justin Faulk that struck him in the left knee.
The 30-year-old defenseman did not return for the start of the second period, with Boston later ruling out Lindholm for the remainder of the game due to a lower-body injury.
Tuesday’s news stands as the latest step back for a Bruins team that has been reeling all season amid a sluggish 7-7-2 start.
Lindholm has been one of the few bright spots for the Bruins this season, his offensive poise with the puck giving Boston a much-needed jolt from the blue line.
Through 16 games, Lindholm was second among Bruins skaters with 21:39 of average ice time while chipping in with three goals and four assists.
Lindholm’s poise with the puck prompted Montgomery to promote Lindholm up to Boston’s top power-play unit on Monday in place of Charlie McAvoy.
“I think he’s being a lot more assertive,” Montgomery said of Lindholm, who has already matched his scoring output from last year with three goals through 16 games. “He’s being [a] shot-first mentality, for sure.
“I think that in the other two zones, when he moves the puck, he’s moving it and joining — so when he gets it, he has more time. Instead of trying to beat the first or second forechecker, he’s moving and jumping by those guys, so when he joins the play, he has more time.”
Lindholm’s absence should further hinder a Bruins power play that entered Tuesday’s game with just eight tallies across 64 opportunities on the man advantage.
The Bruins will likely need to call up a defenseman on Wednesday as they continue their two-game road trip. Boston currently has no extra skaters on its roster, with defenseman Andrew Peeke also tabbed as “week to week” after suffering an upper-body injury during the Bruins’ loss to the Maple Leafs last week.
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