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Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

Bruins make roster move on backend

Author Ty Anderson
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - FEBRUARY 29: Mason Lohrei #6 of the Boston Bruins celebrates with Kevin Shattenkirk #12 and Pavel Zacha #18 after scoring the game winning goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period at TD Garden on February 29, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeat the Knights 5-4 (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, things are looking just about set from a roster standpoint for the Bruins.

And on Friday, the Bruins decided to make a roster move with that in mind, with defenseman Mason Lohrei officially assigned to AHL Providence. Lohrei’s move back to the minors came after Lohrei left Friday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena earlier than the rest of his teammates, and comes with the Bruins focusing on getting him some playing time versus sitting out as a healthy scratch.

“We didn’t want him to extend too long in practice if we decided to [send him to the AHL],” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed when asked about Lohrei’s early departure.

90 minutes later, Lohrei’s move to the minors was confirmed by the team.

Back with the Bruins for almost two full months now, Lohrei has played just three games since Mar. 14, and was a healthy scratch in three straight games leading up to Friday’s transaction to return him to the P-Bruins. On his latest NHL run, Lohrei put up one goal and seven points, along with seven hits and 16 blocks, in 14 games.

Lohrei’s demotion essentially cements his late-season status as Boston’s No. 8 defenseman, meaning he will be the first player called back up to Boston if the Bruins lose a member of their seven-defender NHL blue line group.

As for the player directly ahead of him on the Boston depth chart, defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, Montgomery confirmed that he will be in the lineup for Saturday’s head-to-head with the Penguins down in Pittsburgh.

And based on Friday’s practice, Shattenkirk will skate with Andrew Peeke on Boston’s third pairing, which sets Parker Wotherspoon up as the Black and Gold’s healthy scratch on the backend.

3 Stars: Bruins come up short vs. Hurricanes

Tuesday night at TD Garden did not get off to the best start for the Bruins.

In fact, it happened on Carolina’s first shot of the evening, too. A no-angle weird shot on goal from the Hurricanes’ Martin Necas hit Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, floated up and disappeared into the nothingness of a goaltender’s gear, and appeared to pop into the back of the Boston net. That was the ruling on the ice, too. Much like Saturday’s game against the Panthers, the Bruins appeared set to have to work out of an early hole, with the ‘Canes on the board just 1:59 into the first period of play.

However, a video review confirmed that the puck never crossed the goal line, Swayman and the Bruins were saved and back at 0-0.

But the Bruins failed to make that goal-line break count, as the Bruins struggled to get their engines firing at the other end in what finished as a 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes at TD Garden.

  • For the Bruins, this game was truly lost in the second period, as the Bruins took a step backwards after what was a strong opening frame, with just four shots for each team, and with a checking game that made you think it was late May, not early April. Calling it a step backwards was really the best and only way to describe it, too, as the Bruins’ offense stalled out, with just two shots through the halfway point of the middle period, and with Carolina’s offense finding its gear.

    “I loved our first,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the loss. “I thought we were really physical. I thought we were engaged, a couple of good scoring chances [and] they had a couple. Second period, I thought they came out and they pushed hard. They were over top of us. I thought their checking skills, were superior to ours and led to a lot of us playing in our zone. And then, obviously, they got ahead of us.”

    The loss put an end to Boston’s four-game win streak.

    Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars from a showdown at TD Garden…

  • Third Star: Charlie McAvoy

    Apr 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

    Apr 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

    In a game short on Bruins rising to the challenge, the lone Boston goal of the evening came off the stick of defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who now has goals in back-to-back games for the first time since a two-game goal streak in October.

    McAvoy, who played just under 24 minutes in the losing effort, also added one hit and three blocks in this contest.

  • More on the Bruins

    – Four Bruins to watch over final four games of season

    – Danton Heinen earns nod as B’s Masterton nominee

    – How the Bruins could manage playoff rotation

  • Second Star: Pyotr Kochetkov

    Apr 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

    Apr 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

    The Bruins really didn’t make Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov sweat like they needed to in this game. But Kochetkov made the saves he needed to make in this one, particularly in the third period when the Bruins had an early push in an attempt to knot things up at 2-2. During that spell, Kochetkov’s best save came on a developing 2-on-1 sequence that saw David Pastrnak thread a pass to Danton Heinen at the net front.

    Kochetkov, who has been one of the best goalies in the NHL over the second half of the season, finished with 22 saves in the victory.

  • First Star: Andrei Svechnikov

    Jan 2, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) skates against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 2, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) skates against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. (Danny Wild/USA TODAY Sports)

    Boston’s a long way from Michigan, but the Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov decided to bring The Mitt to Boston, as he opened the scoring in this game with a ‘Michigan’ goal on Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman.

    This is now the third ‘Michigan’ goal of Svechnikov’s NHL career, and credit to him, as he caught the Boston defense and Swayman sleeping behind the goal.

    “Well, I mean, he did it so quick tonight,” Montgomery said. “[Svechnikov] beats a guy one-on-one and in the corner. We don’t get a piece of him. So now he has all day to make that play. So the goalie’s got to be aware, but that’s a tough play on the goalie and defenseman. All you can do is meet him at the post and you got to meet a stick.”

    Svechnikov also added an assist on the Teuvo Teravainen goal that doubled Carolina’s second-period lead, and added two hits and four shots in 15:06 of time on ice by the night’s end.

Ty Anderson is 98.5 The Sports Hub’s friendly neighborhood straight-edge kid. Ty has been covering the Bruins (and other Boston teams) since 2010, has been a member of the PHWA since 2013, and went left to right across your radio dial and joined The Sports Hub in 2018. Ty also writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to the Boston Celtics and Boston Red Sox.

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