The Boston Bruins have been finding their stride this January, stringing together some of their sharpest hockey of the season - and, until recently, doing it while staying mostly healthy. But with the Olympic break looming, the injury bug is starting to bite at the worst possible time.
Saturday’s game against the Canadiens brought a brief scare when defenseman Nikita Zadorov went down, but the Bruins dodged a major bullet there. Fast forward to Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators, and the luck didn’t hold.
Late in the second period of what would become a 3-2 overtime win, center Elias Lindholm exited with an upper-body injury after taking a face-off near the defensive zone. He didn’t return, and by Thursday’s matchup with the Flyers, he was officially out of the lineup.
That morning, the Bruins called up 19-year-old Matthew Poitras from Providence, a clear sign Lindholm would be sidelined. With their top-line center out, Boston was already facing a tough stretch. But things took another hit just hours later.
Pavel Zacha, bumped up to the top line to center Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak, made an immediate impact - burying the Bruins’ second goal in the opening period against Philadelphia. It was the kind of response you want from a player stepping into a bigger role.
But the momentum didn’t last. In the second period, Zacha left the game with an upper-body injury of his own and was ruled out for the rest of the night.
So here we are: two top-six centers down in the span of two games, both with upper-body injuries, and no clear timetable for return. For a team trying to claw its way into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the timing couldn’t be worse.
Boston has two games left before the Olympic break - a big one on Sunday in the Stadium Series against the Lightning, followed by a road tilt next Wednesday against the Panthers. Both opponents are in the thick of the playoff race, and these aren’t the kind of games you want to enter short-handed down the middle.
The Bruins have shown resilience all season, and they’ll need every ounce of it now. With Lindholm and Zacha out, the pressure shifts to the depth players and young call-ups like Poitras to hold the line. The next two games could go a long way in shaping Boston’s postseason hopes - and we’ll find out just how deep this roster really is.