Boston Bruins Head Coach Reveals The Bruins Will Be Down Two Key Players As the NHL Resumes Play
The Boston Bruins will be missing two top defensemen in the lineup as the NHL resumes play after the 4 Nations Face-Off, Joe Sacco offered a perspective of how the team will move forward without their presence.
The Boston Bruins are in a delicate situation, as they not only need to make the Stanley Cup playoffs to maintain the continuity of the current lineup, but they're missing two key pieces.
Those pieces are Charlie McAvoy, and Hampus Lindholm, the entire top-pair defenseman for the Bruins.
A significant loss for any NHL team that hopes to make the playoffs.
However, the Bruins will have to shift priorities and Interim Coach Joe Sacco has a way to work through this loss.
Sacco believes that the newer defenseman in the lineup will have to play and take their responsibility in smaller bites in order to make his game plan work.
The workload that Lindholm and McAvoy shoulders would undoubtedly exhaust a lot of prospects in the league.
McAvoy last played in the Bruins lineup on February 8th, and he played a total of 25:24 TOI. Whereas Andrew Peeke and Nikita Zadarov never seem to top 22 minutes TOI in the last ten games they've played.
Lindholm's last full game on November 9th, saw him play a total of 21:54 TOI, as a shut down defenseman for the Bruins.
They are sorely missed, as neither Peeke, or Zadorov despite their best efforts can perform up to the expectations, their teammates shoulder nightly.
It's a shame the Bruins are once again banged up, and it could end up costing them their free agents if Don Sweeney does move forward with a retool.
The Bruins are 6th in the Atlantic Division and face the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow at 7 PM.
