Hampus Lindholm isn’t supposed to be the Bruins’ No. 1 defenseman. That would be Charlie McAvoy. But with McAvoy out to start the season, Lindholm isn’t just playing like the Bruins’ top D-man; he’s playing like one of the best defensemen in the NHL, and he’s off to one of the best starts for a defenseman in Bruins history.
Injuries aren't stopping Bruins from continuing historic start
With another two points in Thursday’s 5-2 win over the New York Rangers, Lindholm now has 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) in 11 games this season. That puts him second on the team in scoring behind only David Pastrnak and third among all NHL defensemen in points behind only San Jose’s Erik Karlsson and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin (all three are Swedish, by the way).
That’s all impressive, but this stat from Boston Sports Info really drives the point home when it comes to putting Lindholm’s start in perspective:
A club of four, in which two of the members are Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. Beyond the exclusivity of this club, there’s also the fact that Lindholm is the first to do it since the last time Bourque did it in 1995-96, 27 years ago.
Two nights after posting a career-best four points against Pittsburgh, Lindholm followed up with a goal and an assist at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
His assist came from him doing what he’s done so often, and so well, this season: jumping up in the play and handling the puck deep in the offensive zone. Lindholm took a pass after overlapping with Nick Foligno, then wrapped behind the net before sending a pass right across the crease to the waiting stick of Charlie Coyle.
His goal was a nearly length-of-the-ice empty-netter to seal the win, as he pounced on a loose puck in the defensive zone and wasted no time taking aim at the opposite cage.
The points are a big reason Lindholm’s start is so impressive, but they’re not the only reason. He leads the Bruins in ice time (24:13 per game) and plus-minus (+12, which is also tops in the whole league). His 3.2 expected goals above replacement (per Evolving-Hockey) is second on the team behind only Pastrnak. His 2.05 expected goals against per 60 minutes when he’s on the ice is the lowest mark on the team. He’s quarterbacking a power play that ranks 13th in the NHL and is a regular penalty-killer for a unit that’s tops in the NHL.
All that is to say that Lindholm is lifting the Bruins up at both ends of the ice. This is everything Don Sweeney and Cam Neely were hoping for when they acquired him at last year’s trade deadline. Lindholm really is that all-around, minutes-eating left-shot defenseman that the team had been lacking since Zdeno Chara’s prime years.
History tells us that Lindholm probably won’t keep scoring at this pace. He has never topped 34 points in any of his first nine NHL seasons, so the idea that he might suddenly rank among league leaders like Karlsson, Cale Makar and Victor Hedman seems unlikely. But a jump up to 50-plus points could certainly be in play, and that would still be fantastic for the Bruins, especially if his two-way play remains at such a high level.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery has said that he anticipates playing Lindholm and McAvoy both together and apart once McAvoy returns, depending on the game and situation. Either prospect -- having them together for 24 minutes a night or splitting them up and having one on the ice at nearly all times -- should be terrifying for opponents who are already having a world of trouble dealing with Lindholm and the 10-1-0 Bruins.
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