It has been an up-and-down season for Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei. He started on the first pairing with Charlie McAvoy as a potential preview of the team's top duo for years to come. After a brutal start to the year together, Lohrei went from the penthouse to the outhouse, ending up as a healthy scratch for a short stretch.
Lohrei eventually found a home on his off side with Hampus Lindhom, and the duo worked well together for the most part. It looked like it could be a long-term solution for the team, with the only question being whether playing on the right side would be where Lohrei would be most comfortable going forward.
The Bruins' defense corps was a question mark heading into the first round. Jonathan Aspirot's inexperience with first-pair minutes in the playoffs was a bit of a concern, while Nikita Zadorov's discipline and Andrew Peeke's recent poor play were also a problem.
The one pair that people didn't seem to have a problem with was the second with Lohrei and Lindholm. They have shaky moments, but for the most part, they are solid in the defensive zone and help generate offense as more offensively inclined defensemen.
Mason Lohrei is in over his head in playoffs
Lohrei's play over the first three games of the series is concerning at best. In the playoffs, the games get tighter, the forecheck gets more intense, and the hits get much more physical. Lohrei has been playing defense over the first three games like it's a December night in Seattle, and the Sabres are eating him alive.
The lack of physicality in his game isn't a problem over an 82-game season when he only gets exposed occasionally. However, when every shift is under the microscope, Lohrei looks like the last thing he wants to do is stick his nose into the fight. He holds the puck too long, avoids contact, and is constantly losing his coverage in the defensive zone.
At the time, it was inconsequential because of the score, but there was a moment during the third period of Game 2 when Lohrei took a shift after the David Pastrnak-Tage Thompson scrum that escalated into all 10 players getting into the fight. Lohrei looked like he was afraid to touch the puck with the temperature of the game heating up, which led to a quick pull off the ice from Marco Sturm.
Lohrei also lost a physical battle with Alex Tuch in Game 3 that led to the Sabres forward scoring the go-ahead goal off the next faceoff. People argued that the play should've been an elbowing penalty on Tuch, but it is playoff hockey, and it sort of looked like Lohrei just got sat down by a stronger and tougher player.
With a must-win game approaching on Sunday, it looks like Sturm is seeing the same things as I am, as Jordan Harris was taking shifts in Lohrei's place at Saturday's practice. With Lohrei taking on water in every shift on Thursday, it's the right move, but a disappointing one in the defenseman's career trajectory.
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