Boston Bruins
“I think we’ve done a really good job without him, but we also know we’re better with him.”
Charlie McAvoy is expected to be back in the lineup on Tuesday in San Jose. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe
The Bruins are set to get their top defenseman back on Tuesday night in San Jose, as Charlie McAvoy is expected to play after serving a six-game suspension to open the year.
This means Marco Sturm has a tough call to make when it comes to identifying the odd man out of his D corps.
Sturm’s team has more than held its own without McAvoy logging heavy minutes and impacting both Boston’s power play and penalty kill — jumping out to a 4-2-0 record on the year. Boston enters its four-game road trip out west on a two-game winning streak, outscoring the Mammoth and Flyers 11-2 over that stretch.
“Absolutely, I think we’ve done a really good job without him, but we also know we’re better with him,” Sturm said of McAvoy on Monday. “So it’s nice to have him back. He’s been very excited. He’s been looking forward to it for a long, long time, and yeah, it’s going to be great.”
McAvoy should help shore up a Bruins defense that ranks 24th in the league in 5-on-5 high-danger scoring chances allowed per 60 minutes (12.87).
But the Bruins already had a logjam on their D corps before McAvoy’s return, with Jonathan Aspirot sitting as a spare blueliner for the past three games. Henri Jokiharju is currently down in Providence, seemingly in roster purgatory.
Now, Sturm will need to subtract at least another viable D-man from Boston’s starting six-man unit prior to Tuesday’s bout against the Sharks.
For now, McAvoy, Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm, and Will Borgen are the locks.
Monday’s practice lines in California reenforced that sentiment.
While Boston’s forward lines remained intact from Saturday’s win against Philly, the Bruins’ D pairings were completely reshuffled, with Connor Clifton the odd man out.
Here’s a look at Boston’s practice lines/pairings on Monday:
Geekie-Zacha-Pastrnak
Khusnutdinov-Minten-Peterka
Mittelstadt-E. Lindholm-Hagens
Jeannot-Poitras-Kastelic
Kuraly
H. Lindholm-McAvoy
Zadorov-Borgen
Brunet-Lohrei
Aspirot-Clifton
Swayman
DiPietro
Based on that practice grouping, it seems both Frederic Brunet and Mason Lohrei have a slight edge over Clifton.
While Zadorov and Clifton have been Boston’s most-used D pairing to open the season, it’s been a mixed bag in terms of giving up quality looks and tallies.
Over the duo’s 95 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time together, the Bruins lead 39-31 in scoring chances, but trail 18-10 in high-danger chances allowed. Boston has also scored four goals, but surrendered four goals over that stretch.
For now, both Lohrei and Brunet offer higher upside than Clifton — especially when it comes to playmaking potential and transition capabilities.
After being scratched during last year’s playoff run, Lohrei has impressed out of the gate this season with Boston. He has posted four points (two goals, two assists) in six games, while averaging 19:27 of ice time per game.
On a Bruins D corps that seems to be making a concerted effort to both carry the puck through the neutral zone and pepper the net, Lohrei seems to be a willing participant.
“I feel like I’m at my best when I’m playing with confidence,” Lohrei said Saturday. “That’s something I’ve been trying to do and I’m feeling pretty good, so I just want to continue to do that.”
A rookie skater in Brunet earning a nod over a veteran like the 31-year-old Clifton might be a bit of a surprise. But the 23-year-old skater has been steady since joining the lineup, recording an assist in three games, posting a +3 rating, and averaging 18:37 of ice time per contest.
While Brunet’s brief stint as Boston’s QB on its top power-play unit will end with McAvoy’s return, Brunet’s puck play and mobility make him an appealing asset for Boston’s reworked D corps.
“He had a good camp, but we didn’t really know how effective he would be, and he took charge,” Sturm said of Brunet on Saturday. “So I’m really happy about that. And also on the power play, that means a lot to be on the first unit. Not everyone can do that.”
Given that Brunet spent a majority of training camp and preseason action next to McAvoy, it seems like Sturm wants to give that duo a look at some point. During camp, McAvoy compared Brunet to his former longtime D partner, Matt Grzelcyk.
Both the Bruins and McAvoy would welcome that comparison if it came to fruition, with McAvoy playing some of his best hockey when Grzelcyk was available to retrieve pucks, start breakouts, and get Boston’s skaters moving down the other end of the ice.
But based on Monday’s practice, the Bruins seem intent on keeping Brunet and Lohrei together — with Boston outscoring foes, 3-0, in their 40:43 of 5-on-5 ice time together over the last week.
With Lohrei and Brunet skating on the third D pair, Sturm tweaked his top-four unit on Monday — with Hampus Lindholm skating alongside McAvoy.
Splitting up Lindholm and Borgen is an interesting call, since the pair has held up as Sturm’s most effective shutdown grouping out of the gate this season. In their 86 minutes of five-on-five ice time, Boston has outscored teams, 6-1.
Meanwhile, Borgen has only skated alongside Zadorov for 2:34 of 5-on-5 reps this season, although the heft and mobility on that line between a 6-foot-7 skater and a 6-foot-3 defenseman could be an effective mix.
McAvoy stressed on Monday that he has no issue playing alongside another established D-man like Lindholm, given that the duo has skated on the same pairing across several seasons.
“I’ve played with Hammer before,” McAvoy said. “I truly think I’ve played with everybody before — having got some reps with [Brunet] in the preseason. So I think I can say I have played with everybody, and no matter who I’m with, my job always stays the same: to be the absolute best that I can be, and try to elevate my partner.
“And in return, it’s what I ask for out of a D partner. So let’s make each other’s lives easier, and if it’s Hammer tomorrow and someone else moving forward? That doesn’t change. Just trying to be the very best I can be.”
As Sturm noted on Monday, Clifton’s time on the outside looking in at Boston’s starting lineup may not be long.
Beyond the inevitable sting of the injury bug, the Bruins’ defensive structure could spring a few leaks against some high-powered, uber-skilled offenses in San Jose and Anaheim this week.
“Again, they’re tough choices,” Sturm said. “[It’s not] because some guys are not playing well. That’s not the truth. I think they all played very well. Sometimes it goes by hands or by feeling, whatever it is. … But I think we feel really comfortable as of [Tuesday].
“And it’s a tough road trip. So I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but we might need all of them at one point, including the forwards. So we’ll see.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
