The good, the bad, and the ugly of Bruins' Mason Lohrei

After seeing how Rasmus Andersson has fit with the Vegas Golden Knights, it was a good thing for the Boston Bruins that the defenseman balked at the chance to join the organization. Part of the package going back was Mason Lohrei, and with the way he has been playing down the stretch, it might've been a disaster if Boston had seen this happen in Calgary while Andersson struggled.

The problem with Lohrei is that for every couple of good things he does, there is usually a bad or ugly thing coming down the line that will make fans shake their heads. He had taken a lot of the ugly out of his game recently, but in the last two games, some of his mistakes were nearly catastrophic for the season.

The bad and ugly side of Mason Lohrei

We'll go out of order and start with the negative side of Lohrei, since that is what is fresh in everyone's minds. Lohrei had a rough time over the past two games with some of his mistakes, and if it weren't for the second line saving the day for him against the Buffalo Sabres, things could've been really bad.

It started with him coughing up the puck on the powerplay. He nonchalantly went to retrieve the puck in the neutral zone, got his pocket swiped by Zach Benson, who then scored on a breakaway to tie the game at two. If it wasn't bad enough, Lohrei then cross-checked him into the net, getting a penalty, which of course led to a Sabres go-ahead goal.

The goal could've been chalked up as one bad mistake in a stretch where Lohrei was playing quite well. That is, if we hadn't seen Lohrei make the same exact mistake 24 hours earlier to give up a 1-0 lead. Matthew Knies straight-up bullied him off the puck in that game, which led to a shorthanded breakaway goal. Unfortunately, the Bruins couldn't get the win for him in that one.

The bad news for Lohrei is that it could be a reason to take him off the second powerplay unit. The bad news for Bruins fans is that his replacement will be Hampus Lindholm, who hasn't been much better.

The good side of Mason Lohrei

Speaking of Lindholm, Lohrei has actually been a good presence for him on the right side over the past couple of weeks. He was thrown into an unfamilar role playing his weak side, and he has actually looked better in a small sample size. The mistakes the last two nights were bad, but to be fair, they were on the powerplay so they don't take away how he has been playing five-on-five.

It has been a bit of a rough go for Lindholm, and the fact that it hasn't been a complete disaster when him and Lohrei is on the ice is a testament to the growth in the young defenseman's game. Fans can be upset with the two costly mistakes over the last two nights, but he hasn't been bad enough to start talking about trading him again.

Marco Sturm doesn't seem too worried about the ugly parts in his game. No one can expect a defenseman to be perfect, especially one who plays the free-wheeling style of Lohrei. If the Bruins can get 75% good, 20% bad, and 5% ugly, they'll take it.