While everyone was panicking about the Boston Bruins' offensive depth this offseason, reasonable fans said the defense and goaltending could carry the team if they stayed healthy. The offense may not have been as bad as some people expected, but the predictions about the defense and goaltending have been spot-on, thanks to a stat from Ty Anderson via X.
The Bruins are now 10-2-0 this season when they have Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, and Nikita Zadorov in the lineup together. 9-11-0 when one is missing.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) December 12, 2025
The Bruins didn't play their best all-around defense against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. While Mason Lohrei and Andrew Peeke struggled in the 6-3 win, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Nikita Zadorov were steady as always. McAvoy finished +4 in his return, which also included an assist on David Pastrnak's powerplay goal.
The good news was that the offense scored a season-high six goals, helping Joonas Korpisalo and a couple of the struggling defenders. Jonathan Aspirot also left the game in the first period, which could pave the way for Victor Soderstrom to get a couple more games. A top six of Zadorov, McAvoy, Lindholm, Peeke, Lohrei, and Soderstrom could be the best the defense looked all season, which is saying something given the season they've had.
Unsurprisingly, the Bruins are a different team when their big three is healthy
Anderson's stat shows just how vital the health of their defense corps is to the Bruins. While most teams could get away with one of their defenders being out of the lineup, the depth of Boston's blueline severely limits what they can do, mainly because it causes players like Lohrei or Aspirot to play more meaningful minutes when they're best suited for a third-line role.
Lohrei struggled on Thursday night, but he only played 16:28, even with Aspirot getting injured in the first period. Peeke surprisingly led the defense in ice-time with over 26 minutes, but the big three also each played over 23 minutes. If that continues for the remainder of the season with all players at full health, the Bruins will be a tough team to beat.
If the scoring keeps up and the defense stays healthy, there's no reason to believe the Bruins can't make some noise for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.