The Boston Bruins made a bit of noise amongst the fanbase on Friday at practice when the lines suggested that Frederic Brunet was coming out of the lineup in favor of Jonathan Aspirot. Whether that was a bit of gamesmanship from Sturm or he really did have a sudden change of heart, fans will be glad to know that Brunet is staying in.
While Brunet will stay in the lineup, his defensive partner, Mason Lohrei, will not. In a surprising move given how the 25-year-old played to start the season, the past couple of weeks haven't been as kind to him overall, and he will spend a game watching from above in favor of Connor Clifton.
This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise if we consider how Sturm felt about Lohrei's game last season. He had a run of healthy scratches on two occasions, one of which came in the postseason when he couldn't handle the Buffalo Sabres' forecheck.
With the defender's game trending back more toward last season's form than the one he had at the start of this season, Sturm wasn't going to take long to pull the plug on him again, and he clearly isn't happy with the defenseman's game, according to Scott McLaughlin.
Marco Sturm on the decision to scratch Mason Lohrei for the first time this season:
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) November 14, 2026
“We felt like the pair in general spent way too much time in our end. A lot of turnovers.”
Added: “He's not the young, young kid anymore, so it's a little bit higher standard now.” pic.twitter.com/bCrmZfWquK
This leaves Clifton with an intriguing opportunity, as the scratch gives the Bruins the proper handedness down their defense pairs. Instead of playing Lohrei on his off side to fit both him and Brunet in the lineup, Sturm now has much more comfortable pairings.
The Bruins could drop a second-straight game on Saturday night and Lohrei will be back in for the next game, but if they can win a game against one of the league's hottest teams with Brunet-Clifton as a pair, it'd be hard to see Sturm straying from it. While things haven't gone as smooth this season as Clifton would've liked, he has a great opportunity here.
Mason Lohrei's path ahead for Bruins
It could be just a quick trip to the press box to get his head back on straight, but seeing Lohrei as a healthy scratch after how good he looked to start the season is a bit concerning. We had hoped that he had found his niche and with it would come consistency, but the Bruins have to be a bit discouraged that he has become a bit lost again.
There are only so many chances Sturm will give Lohrei, and with the way Brunet is playing, they might be starting to favor him if only one of the two can stay in the lineup long-term. If Lohrei is in the press box for a few games and the Bruins continue to find ways to upgrade their team, he could be a name that pops back up in trade rumors, which we saw hurt him last season.
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