Boston Bruins
“I think we can hang with everyone, even with some guys out.”
Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha are both expected to miss Boston’s Stadium Series game. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
January 30, 2026 | 2:48 PM
3 minutes to read
The Bruins’ forward corps is going to be shorthanded going into Sunday’s Stadium Series game against the Lightning.
Head coach Marco Sturm announced on Friday afternoon that both Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha won’t travel with the team to Florida — meaning that Boston will likely be without its first and second-line centers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
“That means most likely they’re out tomorrow, and then we’ll see after that game,” Sturm said. “Still day-to-day, but yeah, doesn’t look good for next game, that’s for sure.”
It remains to be seen if both Lindholm or Zacha will be cleared for Boston’s final game before the Olympics — a road game against Brad Marchand and the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
Both Lindholm (Sweden) and Zacha (Czechia) are also set to represent their respective countries in the 2026 Winter Olympics — with Sturm adding that he doesn’t believe both will miss the international tournament.
“I heard not, but again, we just have to follow up, day by day,” Sturm said of Zacha and Lindholm missing the Olympics. “Players are in contact with their federation and then we’re kind of out of it. So as of right now, they’ll plan to go, but it also could change.”
Lindholm suffered an upper-body injury during Tuesday’s overtime win over Nashville Predators and missed Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Flyers. Zacha was injured in that victory against Philly, as he was caught up high on a hit from Nicolas Deslauriers and did not return midway through the second period.
Losing both pivots stands as a sizable setback for a Bruins team that has won 12 out of its last 15 games entering Sunday’s showdown in Tampa.
Lindholm has posted 11 goals and 37 points across 43 games with Boston this season, while Zacha has also recorded 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) over 54 games.
For Sturm, the greatest loss with both Lindholm and Zacha on the shelf might revolve around the top power-play unit — where Lindholm skates at the “bumper” position and Zacha is usually operating at the netfront.
Boston is currently fourth in the NHL in power play percentage at 26.8 percent.
“We dealt with it early on this season where we had a lot of injuries,” Sturm said. “This time, I feel like it’s a little bit different, because they’re our number one and two centers. … I’m not really worried about five-on-five, but it also affects our power play, because both our guys are on it, and they’re big pieces for us. Face-offs starts there right away. Those are the guys on breakouts who come from behind. So there’s more to it.
“Are we confident in the other guys doing a good job? Yes. That’s something we have to overcome, and we have no other choice. But on the other side, I do feel good about it, because of the way we’re playing right now, and the structure we put in place. I think we can hang with everyone, even with some guys out.”
Sturm noted that the Bruins likely won’t make any roster moves before heading down to Florida, meaning that Boston’s four centers going into Sunday will likely be Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov, Matt Poitras, and Sean Kuraly.
A line of Minten, Viktor Arvidsson, and Casey Mittelstadt dominated the Flyers on Thursday, outscoring Philadelphia, 3-0, in under 11 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time together.
A shifty skater like Khusnutdinov has also found plenty of success with David Pastrnak this season — with Boston outscoring opponents, 22-10, when that duo has been out on the ice together at 5-on-5 play (312:16).
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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