The Bruins are about to get a useful piece back on the blue line.
Charlie McAvoy will return from his six-game suspension when Boston gets back in action in San Jose on Tuesday night, giving the Bruins a boost on defense after a stretch in which they managed just fine without their top blue-liner. Still, this is the kind of addition that matters. McAvoy should give a team that can use it a lift, especially on a power play that has been struggling.
His return leaves one more question for Marco Sturm and the staff: someone has to come out of the lineup on the back end, and that decision is coming over the next day or two.
Boston’s trip out west begins today, and it’s a four-game swing that starts in San Jose before moving on to Anaheim on Friday night, Los Angeles on Saturday night, and Dallas next Tuesday. The California stops come against teams that are more up-and-coming than true contenders, but the Stars finish still stands out as a serious test. Two wins in four would qualify as a solid trip, though there’s no reason the Bruins shouldn’t want more.
Back in Providence, the start has been rough for the Bruins’ AHL club. The 2026-2027 season has opened with a 1-4-0 record through five games, and every one of those contests has been at home.
The skid included back-to-back shutout losses last week, before the P-Bruins finally broke through with a 6-2 win over Charlotte on Saturday night. They couldn’t keep that going, though, falling 6-2 to Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Sunday night.
With so much roster turnover over the summer, some early growing pains were expected. Even so, first-year head coach Trent Whitfield has plenty on his plate already.
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 Push Comes With One Offensive Pressure Point
The Bruins are trying to carry some of last seasons late push into a new year, and one of the quieter themes coming out of camp is where the offense has to come from beyond the forward lines. Boston got itself into the Stanley Cup Playoffs under Marco Sturm despite a sluggish start, and the coach has been clear that the next step is building a more dangerous attack from the blue line. It is not just about puck movement or clean exits, but about defensemen making themselves part of the scoring answer more often.
Mason Lohrei has given that idea a timely boost. The young defenseman has come through with important goals in each of the last two games, helping the Bruins in wins and giving Sturm a useful example of the kind of contribution he wants to see more consistently. Whether that becomes a real trend will matter for a Boston team that is still trying to define how much offense it can expect from its back end. [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 🡒]