Bruins player playing through injury
Following the disappointing exit of the Bruins from the postseason, defensemen Hampus Lindholm addressed concerns about his performance being affected by a foot injury. Lindholm dismissed the notion, stating on May 2 during the team's somber locker cleanout after their first-round series loss to the Panthers, "I'd say I was fine. Everyone has bumps and bruises at this time of the year."
However, Lindholm later made a surprising revelation, disclosing that he had actually been playing with a broken foot throughout the final stretch of the season. In an interview with Aftonbladet published on May 9, he explained, "I found out this morning that I have been playing with a fracture in one foot for the past month," conveying the news through a text message to the Swedish outlet.
Due to the injury, Lindholm was unable to join the Swedish national team for the World Championships, held in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. Among the Bruins, only defensemen Jakub Zboril was participating in the tournament, representing Czechia.
Lindholm's exceptional performance during the season solidified his position as one of the Bruins' top defensemen. He finished 16th among all NHL defensemen in points, registering an impressive 53 points (10 goals, 43 assists). Additionally, he topped the league in plus-minus, boasting a remarkable plus-49 rating, while logging an average of 23 minutes and 11 seconds of ice time per game.
However, the playoffs painted a different picture for Lindholm, as he struggled to make an impact, failing to score a single point in the seven games played. His tentative play resulted in a number of mistakes, notably a puck-over-glass penalty committed while he was left uncovered during Game 6.
Throughout the series, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery remained hopeful that Lindholm would regain his form. Prior to Game 6, Montgomery expressed his confidence, stating, "His offense always comes from great defense or moving the puck and joining. You look at the goals he scored or the great passes throughout the year, it's come from that. We just want him to keep focusing on shutting people down, which he's done a great job of, and we know the offense is going to come. Great players, they figure it out. It's just a matter of time. It's a small sample size right now."
It is believed that Lindholm's injury originated from a shot block incident against the Red Wings on March 11. The following day, he was seen wearing a walking boot on his left leg and did not participate in the rematch in Detroit. In late March and early April, Lindholm was observed with an ice bag on his foot after several games. He missed one game on March 26 in Carolina, as Bruins coach Montgomery referred to the injury as a "nagging" issue, prompting a need for rest.
Reflecting on his condition during the playoffs after the Bruins' elimination, Lindholm asserted, "There's no excuses on that stuff. I think even if you were to have something linger � like we had guys play through stuff. It's just that time of year. You try to find ways. We couldn't really do that this year."
| POLL | ||
Is this a factor in why Lindholm didn't put up a point in the playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 49 | 75.4 % |
| No | 16 | 24.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
