Mason Lohrei had three assists through 23:32 of ice time in the Boston Bruins' 6-5 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Mason Lohrei had three assists through 23:32 of ice time in the Boston Bruins' 6-5 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Mason Lohrei’s first game back in the Boston Bruins’ lineup held more responsibility than the 23-year-old defenseman might have anticipated.
Originally slotted on the second pair with Brandon Carlo, Lohrei – and the rest of the B’s D-core – had to shake things up when Matt Grzelcyk went down with a lower-body injury just 65 seconds into the 6-5 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
“Obviously huge loss not having [Grzelcyk]. It gets you into the game more,” Lohrei said to reporters Wednesday. “You’re going more consistently and not as much time in between shifts. I enjoy it, just keep rolling and playing the game.”
The Bruins were not only left with five defensemen, but just two healthy left-shot blueliners. Hampus Lindholm is out week to week with a lower-body injury he suffered in the third period of Monday's 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars – the reason for Lohrei’s call-up from AHL Providence.
“The five D-men, they really did a great job for us tonight,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said to reporters Wednesday.
Despite the early adversity, Lohrei embraced the challenge and proved to the Bruins coaching staff that he can step up in big moments against top competition. The rookie logged three assists – marking his first multi-point NHL game – through an extended 23:32 of total ice time. Comparatively, Lohrei averaged 16:39 of TOI while up with the Bruins earlier in the season.
“Just go into it and play my game and whatever happens happens,” Lohrei said. “I felt pretty good. Always things to work on but nice to just get out there and play freely, try to move pucks and do what I do.”
Lohrei has now played 28 games with the Bruins this season, and in his third stint back with the team, Montgomery is seeing Lohrei’s work and attention to detail in Providence pay off at the pro level.
“I thought he was really good,” Montgomery said. “Played more direct, north, coming out of the D-zone and at the offensive blue line under pressure. And then obviously when he had time and space, he made some real good plays.”
While the Bruins have enough defensemen on the road trip to dress six – Kevin Shattenkirk was a healthy scratch Wednesday as Parker Wotherspoon skated on the third pair with Derek Forbort – the team will likely bring in reinforcements, namely Ian Mitchell, for the remaining three games.
Either way, Lohrei’s role and consistency has suddenly become a lot more important, especially on the left side, with two of the B’s top-four defensemen sidelined.
“Stepping up and trying to make plays every shift to help the team win,” Lohrei said.
There’s little time for rest for Lohrei and the Bruins who will face the Calgary Flames Thursday at 9 p.m. ET in the second game of their back-to-back before heading to Vancouver for Saturday's matchup against the Canucks.
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