Bruins’ Loaded D-Corps Could Inspire Rotation Similar To Last Season

At the midway point of the NHL season, the Boston Bruins find themselves once again at the top of the Eastern Conference and one point behind the league-leading Vancouver Canucks.

While many experts had pegged the Bruins to “fall off” prior to the season, the Black and Gold have proved their naysayers wrong as owners of a 27-8-9 record.

The reason for Boston’s success is simple. Much like last season, the B’s have depth at every position on the ice — especially defense.

Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Kevin Shattenkirk each have a spot on the first, second and third pair of the Bruins lineup. When healthy, Brandon Carlo is more often than not tabbed as Lindholm’s partner in the second pairing. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Carlo has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury.

That leaves Matt Grzelcyk, Mason Lohrei, Derek Forbort and Parker Wotherspoon all battling for the final two spots on Boston’s blue line.

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Forbort has missed 20 games with a lower-body injury this season and was placed on long-term injured reserve in December. Forbort has skated in 20 games this season recording four assists while averaging 18:22 minutes of ice time. He is considered one of the best penalty killers on the team and with the Bruins averaging three or more infractions each game, his return to the lineup could be invaluable.

Prior to his injury, Carlo had not missed a game this season. In the midst of his best season, the right-shot defenseman has lit the lamp twice this season, adding eight assists to his scoresheet while averaging 20:17 minutes of ice time.

Coupled with the Forbort and Carlo injuries, Grzelcyk has also missed 13 games this season due to injury. Top defenseman McAvoy missed four games while serving the suspension he was given by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head against Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. McAvoy missed another four games with an upper-body injury.

Given all the injuries, the Bruins have utilized Lohrei and Wotherspoon to bolster the lineup.

Lohrei has played 10 more games than Wotherspoon, but both defensemen have shown growing confidence and poise each time they step on the ice for the Bruins. Both have averaged more than 16 minutes of ice time across their NHL stints in Boston. Lohrei has notched three goals and three assists in 27 games, while Wotherspoon, a self-acclaimed defensive defenseman, has three helpers in 17 games for the Bruins.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after practice on Friday that both Carlo and Forbort were getting close to returning to the lineup which could cause Boston’s bench boss to make tough decisions regarding playing time.

“They both feel a lot better,” Montgomery told reporters, per the team. “Specifically (Carlo and Forbort). We’ll see how they feel (Saturday), but it’s a lot more promising.”

If both Carlo and Forbort were to return by the end of the All-Star break, Montgomery might opt to adopt a rotation of defensemen similar to the one he implemented last season after the Bruins acquired Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals prior to the NHL trade deadline.

Only time will tell what the Bruins will do. But having too many solid defensemen without enough roster spots is not too shabby of a position to be in. Especially when the team will be ramping up for another playoff run this spring.