The Elias Lindholm era for the Boston Bruins makes some wish there were mulligans in the NHL. The center has the strengths that led the Bruins to pursue him over the past few seasons, first through trade and then finally through free agency. However, there is something that doesn't mesh between Lindholm and the rest of the roster.
You have to feel for him, as he finally got comfortable last season, only to have another coaching change in the offseason that may have affected him even more. Now, there is no real fit in the lineup for Lindholm, as David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie are left to try and make it work. The only thing it has really done in this postseason is bring the two scoring wingers down to his level.
The contract is too expensive for the coaching staff or front office to ever consider making him a healthy scratch, but it could solve alot of issues. You aren't going to change the second or fourth lines, and putting Lindholm back with Marat Khusnutdinov and James Hagens is a move that those rookies don't deserve.
In a perfect world, the Bruins might consider scratching Lindholm, recalling Matthew Poitras, and putting him in the middle of Pastrnak and Geekie. Poitras has been a bit better personally all-around, which is an element of Lindholm's game that is a bit overexaggerated anyway, and Poitras would definitely be a greater asset in the offensive zone.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what the problem is with Lindholm. He is a two-way forward that half the time can't get the puck out of his own defensive end and offensively has three shots over the first three games of the series. When you're playing on a line with someone like Pastrnak, who makes everyone around him better, it feels like a Lindholm problem more than anything else.
Pastrnak is catching schrapnel all over social media for his play through the first three games, but I truly believe that Lindholm is bringing him down. If you put any other center in the middle of Pastrnak and Geekie, they'd have their best game of the series.
Marco Sturm is losing his patience with Elias Lindholm
Lindholm failed to make an easy five-foot breakout pass in Game 3, which eventually flipped the ice and led to the Alex Tuck go-ahead goal. The Bruins had some chances to get back in front on the powerplay, but the Lindholm's stick was like a black hole when the puck came near him. Before long, Sturm had Lindholm sitting on the bench with the lines in a blender.
Sturm was asked if switching up PP with Arvidsson in E. Lindholm’s usual spot was injury-related. “Do you want to know the truth? Because I can’t tell you that.” So there’s that.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) April 24, 2026
There is a theory that Sturm's post-game comments weren't him throwing Lindholm under the bus, but rather that there is some kind of injury keeping him down. The center has been battling through injury all season, and he did have some glimpses of good play when he was healthy. Games 1 and 2 were great for Lindholm, but if he hurt himself during Game 3, it might explain what is wrong with him.
If it's not an injury and this is truly just bad play for Lindholm with his head coach too mad to even talk about it, then the Bruins have a big problem. If that's the case and it's either Lindholm or Sturm, the Bruins have to back their coach and find a new home for Lindholm in the offseason. The only problem is finding someone naive enough to take him in. In that case, I wonder if Brad Treliving will get a job this summer.
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