The Boston Bruins have been destroyed by injuries this season. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman was the latest casualty, going down with an upper-body injury in Wednesday’s loss to the New Jersey Devils, and is listed as day to day. However, the team’s blue line has suffered the most. They have been without Hampus Lindholm (lower-body injury) since Nov. 12 and Charlie McAvoy (wrist) since Jan. 11. Both are huge losses to the back end. Lindholm has been skating in a red no-contact jersey and McAvoy has not been at practice. The injuries are hurting the team, but they have created opportunities for other players, especially Mason Lohrei.
Lohrei Thriving With New Opportunity
Lohrei is having to shoulder a heavier workload with the Bruins top two defenseman being out and has the third-most time on ice over the team’s last five games. He’s made good on that ice time and has impacted the game in big ways.
The Bruins are not the strongest team at five on five. They’ve given up 40-plus shots in three of their last four games and have also struggled with puck possession and shot suppression. However, with Lohrei on the ice, they’ve controlled the puck, and his performance against the San Jose Sharks (Jan.19) was his best performance.
When Lohrei was on the ice at five on- ive, the Bruins held the edge in shot attempts (30-17), had a shot differential of 14-6, and controlled the expected goals share 1.85-0.65. Yes, the Sharks are not the strongest competition, but that’s high impact from the young defenseman. This level of play also carried over into the game against the New Jersey Devils.
Despite getting manhandled by a better Devils team, Lohrei finished with an expected goals percentage (xGF%) of 62.18. While the team was playing poorly, Lohrei was doing his best to give his team a boost. Lohrei has a 65.46 xGF% and the Bruins have outscored the opposition 11-3 with him on the ice in the last four games.
Even when the Bruins are at their worst, Lohrei has been at his best.
Lohrei Earning Top Power-Play Minutes
Nobody quarterbacked a power play like Torey Krug. He was a magician on the blue line, and the power play flowed like a river with him running it. Since his departure, McAvoy has run the show. However, he has 20 points on the season and only three have come with the man advantage. He has earned a lot of time on the power play with little to show for it.
McAvoy is good in transition, with good awareness to make plays, but he sometimes tries to do too much. Lohrei is calm, can quarterback the power play, and generate offense. He has played 66 fewer minutes of power play time but has seven more points than McAvoy. He has 10 points with the man advantage, all assists with five of them being primary.
He has done a tremendous job of giving the Bruins’ 30th-ranked (13.4% success rate) power play some life. Losing McAvoy and Lindholm stings, but Lohrei is relishing the opportunity to contribute on the first unit.
Lohrei What the Bruins Need
There is a chance the Bruins won’t make the playoffs. It’s been a chaotic season, but now is the time to see what they have in their youth. Matthew Poitras has been impactful since coming up, and now Lohrei is making the most of his opportunity. Seeing the young defenseman thrive has been a treat. With the two key defensemen still out, Lohrei will continue to shine with the increased opportunity.
