Ty Anderson: Who are the Bruins’ top 6 defensemen right now?
On Thursday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, we asked Ty Anderson of 985TheSportsHub.com what’s the biggest question facing the Bruins right now outside of the goalie situation.
There’s only 3 locks…
Marc Bertrand: What’s the biggest question mark about the Bruins going forward into the playoffs that does not relate to the goalies.
Ty Anderson: What’s your ideal six right now? Like we’ve seen the last two games been (Hampus) Lindholm and (Charlie) McAvoy together in the top pairing. It’s a weapon, but then you watch them when those guys are on the bench and you’re like, oh this is not a deep enough roster for that. You know, does (Kevin)Shattenkirk get in there? Does (Matt) Grzelcyk lose his footing on a roster spot? Mason Lohrei, he’s played just three games since March 14th. I don’t think he’s done enough to make the conversation interesting in terms of him getting a spot for Game One. Then you have Parker Wotherspoon and Andrew Peeke, what’s happening with all these guys here, you know? And how does it all shake out for you? I think that’s the biggest question.
Scott Zolak: If you think about all the years they’ve been in the playoffs here and all the good teams they’ve had, this is the most uncertainty going into the playoffs with your back end. You know we’ve talked about the goalies, but they are kind of connected to the goalies because it’s how they play in front of them. Right. You can name all your defenseman off the top of your head.
Ty Anderson: Who’s a lock? It’s (Brandon) Carlo, (Charlie) McAvoy, and Lindholm. And then that’s it. You don’t know. Lindholm has got to have a good playoff. He’s had two playoffs here, one not so great and one incomplete. Because the concussion.
Oct 19, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo (25) during the second period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
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Bruins making more lineup changes vs. Preds
TEMPE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 09: Matt Grzelcyk #48 of the Boston Bruins passes the puck during the NHL game at Mullett Arena on January 09, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Bruins 4-3 in overtime. ( Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
On the backend, Tuesday will come with Matt Grzelcyk out of the Boston lineup as a healthy scratch.
Grzelcyk’s move to the press box comes after the 5-foot-9 defenseman logged just 13:46 in Boston’s win over the Capitals last Saturday in Washington. Grzelcyk’s 13:46 was the second-lowest total among all Boston defensemen, trailing only Kevin Shattenkirk and his 12:55 by the night’s end. Playing the majority of his evening opposite Brandon Carlo, Grzelcyk finished Saturday’s contest with one hit and one blocked shot.
Grzelcyk, who battled an illness near the midway point of March, is coming off a month that featured two assists and a plus-6 rating, along with 10 hits and 18 blocked shots, in 12 games for the Bruins.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MARCH 05: Mason Lohrei #6 of the Boston Bruins skates against Ryan McLeod #71 of the Edmonton Oilers during the first period at TD Garden on March 05, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
With Grzelcyk out, the Bruins will turn to Mason Lohrei for the first time since Mar. 23 against the Flyers.
Overall, this will be just the third appearance for Lohrei since Mar. 14, as it feels like the 6-foot-4 defenseman has become the proverbial ‘No. 8’ defenseman on the Black and Gold’s depth chart. There’s no denying that Lohrei has had his ups and downs on his third NHL recall (his minus-3 performance against the Blues right on the heels of a strong outing against Pittsburgh comes to mind), but the Bruins are still working him into the mix when and where they can.
It’ll be interesting to see if Lohrei can make a late-season push for a greater role here, too, with the rest of the Boston defense looking pretty damn uncertain at this point given the constant tinkering being done by Montgomery.
Lohrei, who is expected to skate with Brandon Carlo, has totaled four goals and 13 points in 40 NHL games this season.
Mar 26, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) (right) talks with defensive partner defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) before a face-off against the New York Islanders at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
And with Grzelcyk out and Lohrei on Boston’s second pairing, the Bruins will plug Hampus Lindholm to the left of Charlie McAvoy and go with a power-and-power top pairing look in this contest.
The Bruins went with that look in last Saturday’s victory over the Capitals, and while it’s a bit of a top-heavy look for Montgomery’s squad, it’s one that comes with some comfort for the Bruins given the skill set of each player.
“The pros [of putting Lindholm and McAvoy together] are you have two physical, high-end players that can physically match up against the other team’s best players, that can skate with the other team’s best players, [and] that can think or out-think the other team’s best players,” Montgomery said following Monday’s practice back in Boston. “The cons would be you have two alpha males together. Who is going to watch the other one go instead of two going?”
Between Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery, the Bruins have deployed the Lindholm-McAvoy pairing for over 618 minutes of five-on-five play over the last three seasons, and the Bruins have outshot opponents 406-268, out-chanced them 379-277, and outscored them 36-17 over that sample.
ELMONT, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 15: James van Riemsdyk #21 of the Boston Bruins skates against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on December 15, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Up front, the Bruins will throw James van Riemsdyk back into the mix.
It’s been extremely tough sledding for the veteran ‘JVR’ after going through an illness last month. In addition to some significant weight loss as a result of the sickness, van Riemsdyk has really struggled to find his form when thrown back into the Boston lineup. He finished a Mar. 16 outing against the Flyers without a point (though he likely would not have played had it not been for the pregame ceremony honoring van Riemsdyk for his 1,000th game prior to the game), he took a penalty on the power play in a Mar. 23 game against the Flyers, and took an offensive-zone penalty and was on the ice for the first goal against in a Mar. 27 loss to the Lightning.
The Bruins desperately want to get van Riemsdyk going again to give their bottom-six grouping some more pop.
With van Riemsdyk in, Jakub Lauko will sit as a scratch.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 09: Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the second period against the New York Islanders at TD Garden on November 09, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
In goal, the Bruins will give the nod to Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark is coming off a 28-of-30 performance against the Lightning in his last outing, and comes into action with a two-game losing streak going back to his Mar. 23 loss against the Flyers.
Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman remain locked in a battle for the role of Game 1 starter for Boston.
