The Boston Bruins' blue line has been in the crosshairs during their disappointing first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres. The issue with the group is more of the way they were built than placing it on the players themselves, as the players are too slow, too undisciplined, and too poor at moving the puck to make a real impact in playoff hockey.
One of the defensemen who was going to lead the Bruins this season was a healthy Hampus Lindholm. With him and Charlie McAvoy as the two anchors, the blue line was going to pull its weight and hopefully give the Bruins a chance. However, Lindholm is a shell of his former self after the lower-body injury last season, at least in the skating department.
It seems like opponents are actively hunting down Lindholm when he is on the ice, exposing him for his lack of speed and burning him wide. The Sabres have been chipping pucks behind him and getting on the forecheck, and Lindholm really hasn't had an answer. And then, while taking on water every shift, he makes mental mistakes like the one in Game 4, where his inexcusable weak flip attempt on the penalty kill led to a Buffalo goal.
#NHLBruins Hampus Lindholm on how the Bruins couldn’t make plays on the breakout:
— Ryan Bosworth (@RyanJBosworth) April 26, 2026
“They do a good job of getting on us quick. They had a lot of speed tonight, they came out quick… this time of year, it shouldn’t be easy out there. We’re going to have to make it way harder.” pic.twitter.com/7xlkVRcoHX
Lindholm's self-reflection on the Bruins' issues with the Sabres' forecheck after Game 4 was more discouraging than anything else. The defenseman admitted that Buffalo is beating them with speed, and if he knows that and openly admits it, I'm not sure that is going to change.
Hampus Lindholm: “I am confident that we can win some games here. We’ve done it all year. All we need is to string some together here, but we start with one and then go from there.” pic.twitter.com/fdJvqmmB6l
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) April 26, 2026
Lindholm's belief in the team heading into Game 5 is admirable, but hollow words don't always guarantee success. The truth of the matter is that Lindholm's foot and reaction speed have plummeted, Nikita Zadorov is hurting, Charlie McAvoy is tasked with too much responsibility, which is never good for him, and the rest of the defense corps are probably playing in too big a role than what they should be.
The short-term outlook is wondering how the Bruins are going to shelter Lindholm's minutes for the rest of this series and put him in the best position to be one of the team's better defenders. The long-term outlook is whether Marco Sturm really wants to do that for the next four seasons as his contract starts to look worse and worse.
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