Key Bruins Defenseman Exits Early With Injury Vs. Blues

The Boston Bruins faced a less-than-ideal scenario Tuesday night when they were forced to play a majority of their game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night with only five defensemen.

That happened due to an injury to a key defenseman.

The Bruins became shorthanded on the blue line after Hampus Lindholm exited the game late in the first period. He put his body on the line by getting in the way of a shot from Blues defenseman Justin Faulk and paid the price.

Lindholm crashed to the ice after blocking Faulk’s blast before making his way off. He wasn’t on the bench to start the second period and moments later was ruled out for the rest of the contest by the Bruins with a lower-body injury.

The Bruins certainly felt the loss of Lindholm. Boston allowed the Blues to break a scoreless deadlock with St. Louis scoring twice in the second period.

Lindholm had registered a point in two straight games and gained trust from head coach Jim Montgomery that he was promoted to Boston’s top power-play unit against the Blues. He earned 8:17 of ice time before exiting.

It’s the second injury to a Bruins defenseman in a week as Andrew Peeke got hurt against the Toronto Maple Leafs and is considered week-to-week.