Throughout this season, the Boston Bruins searched for the right defenseman to put next to franchise cornerstone Charlie McAvoy on the team’s top defensive pairing.
The Bruins tried Derek Forbort and Matt Grzelcyk in that spot, but Hampus Lindholm, who the Bruins acquired at the trade deadline from the Anaheim Ducks, has turned out to be the best match.
The Bruins immediately played Lindholm alongside McAvoy and Lindholm expressed prior to Tuesday night’s matchup against the Florida Panthers that he’s fond of his new defensive pairing.
“It’s fun to play with a creative guy that wants to play and I think it fits my game well,” Lindholm said as seen in team-provided video. “I like to play that way as well. Maybe, a little bit more two-way and I can help out there and maybe I like to break the puck out and take a guy on me and then try to open up space for my partner and the other guys. I think it’s been working well so far and keep talking. It’s always going to go a little up and down, but as long as we keep building in the right direction, it’s going to be a good thing.”
Lindholm hasn’t been able to fully acclimate on the ice to McAvoy and his new teammates as an injury sidelined Lindholm for seven games. Lindholm returned this past Saturday against the New York Rangers and will play in just his ninth game for the Bruins when they take on the Panthers.
Playing alongside McAvoy is already a much different experience than the one Lindholm went through with the Ducks this season. Lindholm was paired with 20-year-old Jamie Drysdale with the Ducks and now playing with a veteran like McAvoy, Lindholm feels he doesn’t have to keep a watchful eye over his fellow defenseman, which also allows him to open up his game more.
“You have to definitely play a little different when you play with someone in their first year,” Lindholm said. “You have to maybe be a little more cautious and help them out a little bit more. Charlie’s a self-going train. He just does his own thing out there and all I have to do is really focus on me and play to my best ability and then we usually feed off each other pretty well.”
