Things have been a major struggle for the Boston Bruins through the first 16 games of the 2024-25 season. Stuck at .500 going into their game Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues on the road, the Black and Gold were looking to turn things around on a short two-game road trip. Instead, they suffered a huge loss on defense.
In the first period and the Bruins were on the penalty kill, defenseman Hampus Lindholm blocked a shot, but he left the ice and went down the tunnel to the locker room. During the second period, the club announced that he was not going to return to the game, leaving Jim Montgomery with just five defensemen.
Bruins suffer huge loss of Hampus Lindholm
After a scoreless first period, the Bruins allowed two second-period power-play goals and dug themselves a 2-0 hole against a team that was below .500 entering the game. Now down a blueliner, and chasing two goals, it makes the job that much more difficult.
The Bruins continue the trip on Thursday night against the Dallas Stars and who knows what Lindholm's status for that will be. If he can't play, Parker Wortherspoon would likely slide into the lineup.
Losing Lindholm hurts as he has been one of their better offensive defensemen this season and Montgomery recently moved him to the first power play unit, replacing Charlie McAvoy. However, losing Lindholm in all situations is less than ideal at this point for the Black and Gold.
If this trip doesn't yield any positive results, it makes you wonder whether changes are coming for a team that is underperforming so far. We are just over two weeks away from American Thanksgiving, which is the NHL's measuring stick for a team whether or not they're in. a playoff spot. Losing Lindholm for any amount of time won't help.