Bruins’ Hampus Lindholm to Miss Multiple Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
The Boston Bruins will be without a key piece of their blue line for an extended period, head coach Jim Montgomery revealed following Wednesday’s practice.
According to Montgomery, Hampus Lindholm will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury during Tuesday’s contest against the St. Louis Blues. It’s expected to keep the 30-year-old blueliner out of the lineup for multiple weeks.
Lindholm left the game late in the first period after blocking a shot from Blues defenceman Justin Faulk. He immediately headed down the tunnel to the club’s locker room and was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest, ending his night after only 8:17 minutes.
Boston went on to defeat St. Louis, winning 3-2, with goals from Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie.
The Bruins recalled defenceman Jordan Oesterle from AHL Providence, adding a sixth healthy blueliner to the roster. This season, he owns three goals and eight points in nine games after signing a two-year deal ($775,000 AAV) over the summer.
Without Lindholm and Andrew Peeke (upper-body), the team’s defensive core has taken a massive hit as the quarter mark of the 2024-25 season approaches.
“His skating, his mobility. He’s an excellent skater in every possible fashion,” Montgomery said when asked what stood out about Oesterle’s game during training camp. “His edges, his pivots, his lateral movements at the offensive blueline, his retrievals. And then it’s his brain. He’s a smart hockey player that is exceptional at breaking the puck out in transition.”
Mason Lohrei is expected to assume Lindholm’s top-four spot next to Brandon Carlo on Boston’s second defensive pairing. He also figures to join the second power-play unit in place of the injured All-Star blueliner.
Lindholm was off to a brilliant start this season, scoring three goals – already matching last season’s total – and seven points across 17 games, averaging 20:51 per night. He leads all Bruins defencemen in points and sits tied with McAvoy for first in goals.
The 6-foot-4 defenceman is in his fourth season with Boston since being acquired in a midseason trade from the Anaheim Ducks in 2022. Shortly after the deal became official, the left-handed-shooting D-man inked an eight-year, $52-million extension with a $6.5 million AAV.
The Swedish blueliner thrived in his first full season with the club, registering a career-high 53 points over 80 games, tied for the most he’s ever played. But his offensive production took a considerable step back last season, mustering only 26 points in 73 contests.
Lindholm added a goal and three assists in the playoffs, spanning 13 games as the Bruins fell to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the 2024 post-season.
Despite an up-and-down start thus far, which has seen the Bruins held to one goal or fewer in four of their first 14 games, they enter Thursday’s slate third in the Atlantic at 8-7-2 with 18 points, sitting behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers.
Next up for Boston is a road matchup at American Airlines Center versus the Dallas Stars on Thursday before returning home Saturday for a rematch against St. Louis.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Hendrik Seis. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.