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Bruins’ D corps ready for lift as McAvoy, Lindholm inch closer to return
"You want to be out there because you feel like you can make a difference."
Reinforcements are getting closer and closer for the Bruins’ battered blue line.
Both Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm were full participants in Boston’s skate at Warrior Ice Arena on Monday, with the team’s top defensemen donning regular practice sweaters as they continue to progress back from their respective injuries.
It was a welcome sight for the Bruins, who have not had both Lindholm and McAvoy anchoring their D corps together since the former suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 12 against the Blues.
Lindholm has missed 34 straight games since taking a puck off his knee in St. Louis, while McAvoy has been sidelined for six games due to a nagging upper-body ailment.
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While both McAvoy and Lindholm took a sizable step forward Monday, Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco noted that both skaters will not travel with the team to play in Tuesday’s road matchup against the Sabres.
“They’re obviously moving in the right direction, which is a good sign,” Sacco said.
The Bruins have remained afloat since losing both McAvoy and Lindholm, with Boston 4-1-1 since McAvoy joined Lindholm on the shelf.
“They’ve really done an amazing job,” McAvoy said of Boston’s shorthanded D corps. “I mean there’s no secret —our team is built on defense. The only way that we’re gonna be able to have success, really, is if we’re defending our end, and these guys have raised up to that challenge, and we’ve had some great efforts up front.”
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While Boston’s patchwork defense has bent but not completely splintered without McAvoy and Lindholm, the team’s strong showing over the last two weeks has also coincided with some strong play in net between Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo.
A sustained scoring surge up front between David Pastrnak (14 points in six games) and Morgan Geekie (five goals in six games) has also kept the team afloat, even as opposing teams have peppered Boston’s netminders.
Over these last six games without both McAvoy and Lindholm, Boston has surrendered 40+ shots on goal twice, with opposing teams holding a 208-149 edge in shots on goal over that extended stretch.
Just at 5-on-5 play alone, opponents have held an 83-58 edge in high-danger scoring chances in these six games.
The return of two minute-munching stalwarts like McAvoy and Lindholm should help stabilize Boston’s D-zone structure, while injecting an extra layer of offense to a Bruins roster that has only received 15 tallies all season long from blueliners.
Lindholm was arguably Boston’s most impactful skater at the time of his injury (three goals, seven points in 17 games), with his return serving as a potential remedy for a 31st-ranked power play (13.4 percent).
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“You want to be out there because you feel like you can make a difference,” Lindholm said. “But I think the boys have been really fighting hard and it’s gonna be a tough stretch coming [up] and I hope I can be a big factor in getting over this hump.”
A new addition to the blue line
McAvoy had plenty of reasons to smile on Monday — and little of it had to do with shedding a non-contact sweater on the frozen sheet.
The Bruins’ defenseman and his wife, Kiley, welcomed their first child, Rhys Michael McAvoy, on Sunday.
“Yeah, there’s no words,” McAvoy said of his son, who arrived at 5:51 a.m. Sunday. “We’re just thrilled right now. And obviously the timing. Never good to get hurt.
“But where we are now, I got to be there for that and see that and be able to support her. Hopefully we’ll be able to go home today and then also get back to playing. All amazing things right now.”
Pastrnak shines as NHL’s first star
Pastrnak’s recent heater received some recognition from the NHL on Monday, as the star winger was named the league’s First Star of the Week after scoring three goals and posting eight points over four games. Pastrnak, who also took home Third Star honors the previous week, now has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) since the calendar flipped to 2025 (12 games).
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Despite spending the last few weeks on the shelf, McAvoy still expects to play for Team USA in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament, set to be held in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20.
“We knew relatively early on what we had going on, and that it wasn’t going to be a problem for that,” McAvoy said of his injury. “It was just something that we needed to take care of, and the timing was going to be fine.”
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Beyond McAvoy and Lindholm, Sacco added that both Oliver Wahlstrom (illness) and Mark Kastelic (upper-body injury) will not travel to Buffalo. Cole Koepke, sidelined since Jan. 14 due to an upper-body injury, is also an “option” for Tuesday’s game against the Sabres, per Sacco.
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