Boston Bruins: Key player returns against Buffalo Sabres

The Boston Bruins were a bit shorthanded in their 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres this Saturday afternoon with Brad Marchand forced out of the lineup due to COVID-19 protocols.

However, the Black and Gold were also graced with the return of defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.

Lauzon has been out of commission since Feb. 21’s game at Lake Tahoe against the Philadelphia Flyers. In this game, Lauzon suffered a fracture in his left hand during his first shift. He received surgery just a few days later to repair the injury and was deemed out for at least a month.

Today, just over a month since Lauzon received said surgery, he returned playing on Boston’s third defensive pairing alongside Steve Kampfer and in place of Jarred Tinordi.

Jeremy Lauzon’s presence is more important to the Boston Bruins than many thought.

Lauzon’s injury showed just how important he is to the success of the B’s. While the team faired well against the Flyers in the game he suffered the injury, they struggled to find a suitable replacement after.

John Moore, who is now out for the remainder of the season after getting the same hip surgery as David Pastrnak did this past offseason, struggled in all zones of the ice.

Rookie Urho Vaakanainen held his own, but was quite lethargic when it came to break out passes and moving the puck (except for a game or two).

With both veteran and rookie failing to play to head coach Bruce Cassidy’s standards, general manager Don Sweeney went out and claimed Jarred Tinordi off waivers.

Tinordi has proved much more effective than both Moore and Vaakanainen as he’s been in the lineup every game since being claimed (besides the one game he missed due to injury).

However, Tinordi still isn’t Lauzon. So, with Lauzon healthy and ready to go Saturday, he was back in the lineup, no questions asked.

Lauzon is so important to the success of the B’s due to the style of game he plays and the amount of stability he plays with.

The 23-year-old plays a stay-at-home, physical style of hockey but is also capable of skating the puck up ice on a rush or making a nice two-line breakout pass.

None of Moore, Vaakanainen, or Tinordi can play both solid defense and also come with the offensive upside that Lauzon has.

Lauzon showed just how important he is in Saturday’s game. He played the third most minutes among Boston defensive at 18:32, tied for most shorthanded ice time among all Boston skaters at 3:30.

To go along with his impressive amount of ice time, Lauzon was also a plus-1 and racked up three blocked shots. Truly, a very nice return to action for Lauzon after missing over a month.

It’s great that Lauzon is back as it definitely helps out the blue line of Boston. Hopefully Brandon Carlo returns soon to once again solidify the B’s top two defensive pairings.