Mason Lohrei Pumped For Home Debut, Opportunity To Play With Charlie McAvoy

Mason Lohrei will play in his second consecutive game, skating alongside Charlie McAvoy on Boston’s top defense pairing against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night at TD Garden.

“I mean, he’s one of the best defensemen in the NHL,” Lohrei told reporters after the Bruins morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena, per team-provided video. “It’s pretty cool just to be his partner and learn from him. So, I’m excited for that.”

Lohrei logged more than 25 minutes of ice time in his first preseason game while paired with longtime Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo but is always looking for ways to improve his game.

“I just take it day by day,” Lohrei said. “So, getting that under my belt obviously helps and just learn from that and go over the film and try and improve and be better in this game than I was in that game.

“I’m always trying to work on the same stuff like playing fast. Playing quick, being physical. I talk about that stuff a lot. Just improving that part of my game.”

Having the opportunity to skate with Carlo in his first game and McAvoy in his second will only help Lohrei as he grows into the core of the Bruins blue line.

“Anybody in this camp, everybody’s unbelievable — especially those two guys,” Lohrei added. “But being able to play with anybody here… everyone’s a great player and everyone’s got stuff I can try and steal from them and learn and add to my game.”

Lohrei may have his first game under his belt, but Friday night will mark his debut in front of the Bruins faithful at TD Garden.

“I’m just more excited than anything,” he said. “I watched the game on Sunday, just on TV, but it was packed in (TD Garden) and the guys that played said that it was an amazing atmosphere. I’m just excited to be out there for the first time and I’m pumped for that.”

Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and you can catch all the action on NESN+, followed by Bruins Overtime LIVE postgame.