Marco Sturm didn’t wait long after the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers to make his point about where this team still needs to grow.
Boston got the result at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, but Sturm’s message was about the layer underneath it: if the Bruins want to keep themselves in the playoff mix again, they need more from the blue line. That was especially true with the way the roster is built, and especially in a conference and division that leave very little margin for error.
“I want it to be part of our game,” said Sturm, per Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. “Because if I look at some other teams, the ones that give us headaches are the ones that always activate their defensemen. I feel like in the past we didn’t do that enough.”
The Bruins surprised plenty of people last season by reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Sturm’s first year behind the bench, but the road there wasn’t smooth. They stumbled out of the gate before eventually putting together a 100-point season and grabbing the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot. That earned them a first-round date with the Atlantic Division champion Buffalo Sabres, and Boston was sent home in six games.
This year’s challenge looks just as demanding, if not more so. Boston has already shown some early scoring balance, but there’s a bigger question hanging over the offense: can it hold up over time? Sturm’s answer to that, at least from his perspective, is tied directly to getting defensemen involved.
So far, there have been some encouraging signs. Mason Lohrei has scored in back-to-back games, and both goals mattered.
Against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night, his first-period goal came during a three-goal opening barrage in a 6-1 Bruins win. Then on Saturday, he jumped into an odd-man rush, trailed the play, and beat Flyers goalie Dan Vladar to make it 2-0.
That’s the kind of contribution Sturm is asking for, and it’s the kind of production Boston will likely need again if it’s going to navigate another long season and stay in the picture.
In Other News...
Bruins Just Got A Big Blue Line Question On This Road Trip
Charlie McAvoy is poised to rejoin the Bruins for the opening game of their four-game West Coast trip against the San Jose Sharks, giving Boston a familiar anchor back on the blue line at a time when the schedule is about to tighten up. It is the kind of return that can settle a defense group quickly, especially on the road, where matchups and pairings tend to matter even more.
The question now is which defenseman will skate next to him when the Bruins set their lineup for San Jose. Mason Lohrei, Jonathan Aspirot and Frederic Brunet are all in the mix, and the choice says plenty about how Boston wants to balance puck movement, size and reliability as the trip begins. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Blue Line Suddenly Has A Tough McAvoy Decision
Charlie McAvoy is back for the Bruins after serving a six-game suspension, and his return comes at the start of a tough California road trip that immediately asks coach Marco Sturm to reshuffle his blue line. The first practice look had Hampus Lindholm beside McAvoy on the top pairing, with Nikita Zadorov and Will Borgen together and rookie Frederic Brunet alongside Mason Lohrei, giving Boston a new defensive alignment to sort through on the fly.
The most notable ripple from that change is the fate of Connor Clifton, who appears headed for a scratch despite leading the Bruins in ice time in the previous game. For a team trying to steady itself on the road, that is a real decision point, because McAvoys return restores a top-end presence while also forcing Boston to decide which defenseman gets squeezed out of the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Blue Line Questions Arent Gone Just Because Charlie McAvoy Is Back
Charlie McAvoy is back from his suspension, and the Bruins wasted little time reshuffling the blue line around him. At practice, McAvoy skated with Hampus Lindholm on the top defensive pair, while Nikita Zadorov and Will Borgen worked together on the second unit and Mason Lohrei lined up with Frederic Brunet on the third.
Coach Marco Sturm suggested those looks are the most likely combinations for the upcoming game against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. It gives Boston a clearer picture for now, but it also underscores that the defensive puzzle is still being sorted out even with McAvoy available again. [Read more 🡒]