Back in January, when the Boston Bruins were rumored to be in on Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, there was some thought that Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei could have been part of the return that went the other way if a deal was struck. In the end, the Bruins did not acquire Andersson, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.
After the Olympic break, Lohrei has been playing very well with Hampus Lindholm on a left-handed pair for head coach Marco Sturm. For all the good that he has done, there were the last two games. You couldn't have drawn up a worse-case scenario for the former Ohio State defenseman. As bad as things have been, the young defenseman has the support of his head coach.
Marco Sturm defends Mason Lohrei after two major mistakes in the last two games
Lohrei's first mistake came on Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Boston nursing a 1-0 second-period lead and on the power play, he was outmuscled at center ice by Toronto's young star Matthew Knies for the puck, who tied the game on a breakaway. The Bruins would go on to lose 4-2.
Then came Wednesday night in Buffalo against the red-hot Sabres. Boston was clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third period when he turned the puck over at the defensive blueline to Zach Benson, who scored to tie the game. Lohrei then compounded matters by cross-checking Benson, and he received a penalty. Of course, on the ensuing power play, 33 seconds later, Buffalo scored again for a 3-2 lead. Just a brutal 33 seconds of the game for Lohrei. Sturm didn't beat around the bush after a 4-3 overtime win to defend his young blueliner.
“First of all, he knows he messed up,” said Sturm. “He needs to get the job done at the end of the day. But we will help him. He’s got to learn the hard way. He’s been pretty damn good all year long. A tough start … now we have to make sure he gets back on track. Mistakes happen, and that’s why we have teammates, to bail him out.”
Of course, Sturm is going to defend Lohrei; however, those are mistakes that can't happen this late in the season. It just can't. You have to win puck battles, physical battles, and be smart with the puck. Boston is not Buffalo, the Tampa Bay Lightning, or the Carolina Hurricanes, where they can make those mistakes and it costing them two points won't hurt as much as it does for the Black and Gold. Lessons learned, and now it's time to move on.